We are now closing this blog but you can read all our coverage of the Middle East crisis here.
Summary
It has just gone 5pm in Gaza and 6pm in Tel Aviv.
Here is a recap of the latest developments:
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support on Wednesday but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security. “They have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself”. Israel is still expected to respond to the unprecedented state-on-state attacked launched at it by Iran at the weekend.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned in Tehran on Wednesday morning that the “tiniest” invasion by Israel on Iranian soil would bring a “massive and harsh” response. Raisi said the weekend’s attack was a limited one, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime”. Raisi was speaking at Iran’s national army day parade. At the same event, Iranian army chief commander, Maj Gen Abdolrahim Mousavi, said that any aggression against Iran’s interests will be met with a “firm and regret-inducing response”.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said she made clear to Netanyahu that the Middle East must not be allowed to slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable. “Because that would serve no one,” she said. “Not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace.”
UK foreign minister David Cameron has also called for restraint, saying while it was clear the Israelis were preparing to act, the UK “hopes they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible”.
The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on 13 April, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release. “We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged,” the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement which also said he had told Cameron and Baerbock that Israel rejected claims by international organizations that there was starvation in Gaza. In March the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip were experiencing catastrophic food insecurity.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a truce in Gaza and a release of hostages have stalled, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday. “We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this,” he said.
At least 18 people were injured earlier, one critically, when what appears to have been a Hezbollah-fired rocket or drone hit a community centre in the northern border village of Arab al-Aramshe. Israel’s military said it subsequently struck at the source of the projectile. It marks the third consecutive day Hezbollah strikes have injured people inside Israel.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israel has “intensified airstrikes on Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip, killing dozens and injuring others with various wounds, amid widespread property destruction”. The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza said Israel’s military offensive had now killed 33,899 people since 7 October.
Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday during a visit to Qatar to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza, ceasefire efforts and hostages, it was revealed. Haniyeh will visit Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Israel’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza. The call comes ahead of Tajani hosting a G7 foreign ministers meeting which is expected to press for further sanctions on Iran.
The US is also expected to impose new sanctions, with national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, saying they will target Tehran’s missile and drone program, Revolutionary Guards and defence ministry.
Israel’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a five-year, 19bn shekel ($5bn) plan to rebuild and strengthen communities near the Gaza border after the 7 October attack by Hamas militants, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. Netanyahu said Israel would invest the funds in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, health and other areas.
Al Jazeera confirmed that Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), will brief the Security Council at a meeting requested by Jordan. According to the report, the session is due to begin at 7pm GMT/8pm BST on Wednesday.
Updated
Crew of ship seized by Iran are safe, operator MSC says
The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on 13 April, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release.
“We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged,” the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement, reports Reuters.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel in the strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on 1 April. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the leading seafarers’ union, said on Wednesday that their priority was the welfare and safety of the seafarers onboard.
“I can confirm the ITF has been in touch with family of the crew on board MSC Aries – who have reported today they’re safe and being treated reasonably,” ITF inspectorate coordinator Steve Trowsdale told Reuters.
“We continue to call on the Iranian authorities to urgently release the crew and the vessel.”
Portugal’s foreign ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday to condemn Saturday’s attack on Israel by Tehran and to demand the immediate release of the Portuguese-flagged ship.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the MSC Aries was seized for “violating maritime laws”, adding that there was no doubt the vessel was linked to Israel. MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
Israel’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a five-year, 19bn shekel ($5bn) plan to rebuild and strengthen communities near the Gaza border after the 7 October attack by Hamas militants, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, according to Reuters.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would invest the funds in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, health and other areas.
“Hamas terrorists wanted to uproot us – but we will uproot them and deepen our roots,” he said in a statement. “We will build the Land of Israel and protect our country.”
His office said local communities would work with government ministries, and along with the business sector and philanthropy, to bring the region to be a “vital, flourishing and attractive area”.
Al Jazeera has confirmed that Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), will brief the Security Council at a meeting requested by Jordan.
According to the report, the session is due to begin at 7pm GMT/8pm BST.
Summary of the day so far …
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support on Wednesday but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security. “They have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself”. Israel is still expected to respond to the unprecedented state-on-state attacked launched at it by Iran at the weekend.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned in Tehran on Wednesday morning that the tiniest strike by Israel on Iranian soil would bring a “massive and harsh” response. Raisi said the weekend’s attack was a limited one, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime”. Raisi was speaking at Iran’s national army day parade. At the same event, Iranian army chief commander, Maj Gen Abdolrahim Mousavi, said that any aggression against Iran’s interests will be met with a “firm and regret-inducing response”.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said she made clear to Netanyahu that the Middle East must not be allowed to slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable. “Because that would serve no one,” she said. “Not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace.”
UK foreign minister David Cameron has also called for restraint, saying while it was clear the Israelis were preparing to act, the UK “hopes they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible”.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement which also said he had told Cameron and Baerbock that Israel rejected claims by international organizations that there was starvation in Gaza. In March the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip were experiencing catastrophic food insecurity.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a truce in Gaza and a release of hostages have stalled, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday. “We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this,” he said.
18 people were injured earlier, one critically, when what appears to have been a Hezbollah-fired rocket or drone hit a community centre in the northern border village of Arab al-Aramshe. Israel’s military said it subsequently struck at the source of the projectile. It marks the third consecutive day Hezbollah strikes have injured people inside Israel.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israel has “intensified airstrikes on Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip, killing dozens and injuring others with various wounds, amid widespread property destruction”. The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza said Israel’s military offensive had now killed 33,899 people since 7 October.
Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday during a visit to Qatar to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza, ceasefire efforts and hostages, it was revealed. Haniyeh will visit Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Israel’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza. The call comes ahead of Tajani hosting a G7 foreign ministers meeting which is expected to press for further sanctions on Iran.
The US is also expected to impose new sanctions, with national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, saying they will target Tehran’s missile and drone program, Revolutionary Guards and defence ministry.
Updated
The Times of Israel is now reporting that 18 people were injured earlier, one critically, when what appears to have been a Hezbollah-fired rocket or drone hit a community centre in the northern border village of Arab al-Aramshe.
Israel’s military said it subsequently struck at the source of the projectile.
Zeina Khodr, a senior correspondent for Al Jazeera, notes this is the third consecutive day there have been injuries on the Israeli side of the UN-drawn blue line that separates Israel from Lebanon inflicted by Hezbollah.
A Turkish diplomatic source has revealed to Reuters that Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday during a visit to Qatar to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza, ceasefire efforts and hostages,
It was announced earlier today that Haniyeh will visit Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A little more from Annalena Baerbock here, who in her press conference at the Ben Gurion international airport in Israel, said:
Everyone must now act prudently and responsibly. I’m not talking about giving in, I’m talking about wise restraint, which is nothing less than strength.
Israel has already shown strength in its defensive victory at the weekend. Because it can defend itself with strong partners and states in the region. And by making it clear to the Iranian regime how much Iran has miscalculated and is isolated.
The countries in the region also do not want to become a substitute battlefield. One of the strongest weapons against Iran is the desire of people in all countries in the region to simply live in peace.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said she made clear during talks in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu that the Middle East must not be allowed to slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable.
“Because that would serve no one,” she said. “Not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace.”
Baerbock was visiting Israel for the seventh time since Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October. She is now heading to the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
Netanyahu: 'we will make our own decisions' about response to Tehran strikes
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support on Wednesday but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security.
“They have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself,” Reuters reports he said, according to a statement released by his office.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned in Tehran on Wednesday morning that the tiniest strike by Israel om Iranian soil would bring a “massive and harsh” response. Raisi said the weekend’s attack was a limited one, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime.”
Earlier the UK foreign secretary David Cameron had said he hoped Israel would show restraint and be “smart but tough” after the unprecedented direct state-on-state attack by Iran on Israel which used over 300 weapons.
The statement from the Israeli prime minister also said that he had briefed Cameron and Annalena Baerbock on the scope of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and Netanyahu said he rejected claims by international organizations that there was starvation in Gaza.
In March the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that 1.1 million people in the Gaza Strip were experiencing catastrophic food insecurity and that famine was imminent.
In its latest update yesterday, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said “There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north,” adding that an average of 181 aid trucks enter each day, well below the target of 500.
“Israel is going above and beyond on the humanitarian situation,” Netanyahu’s statement said.
Updated
Haaretz reports that the number of people wounded by what appears to be a Hezbollah rocket strike in Arab al-Aramshe in northern Israel has risen to 14.
The IDF has said in a statement that it has “struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon where terrorists were operating.”
The move came, it said, after “a number of launches from Lebanon were identified crossing into the area of Arab al-Aramshe in northern Israel.”
Haaretz reports that “at least seven people were wounded by rockets from Lebanon that hit a community center and vehicles in the town of Arab al-Aramshe in northern Israel”. It said two of the wounded were seriously injured.
Hezbollah launches missiles and drones on Israeli military facility
Hezbollah says it has launched missiles and drones on an Israeli military facility in Arab al-Aramshe, which is near the Lebanese border, in response to Israel killing Hezbollah members in Lebanon.
Updated
Iranian army chief commander, Maj Gen Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said that any aggression against Iran’s interests will be met with a “firm and regret-inducing response”.
“We are ready to fight possible evil acts, and what we showcased across the country today was a small part of our capabilities,” Mousavi told reporters on Wednesday on the sideline of the parade of the Iran army on National Army Day.
Any aggression against Iran’s interests will be met with a strong and regret-inducing response, and if the enemies commit any act of aggression, “we will respond with more deadly weapons”, he said.
Iranian armed forces are always ready to carry out missions in the best possible way, considering the enemies that the country has, he said.
Truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled, says Qatar's prime minister
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a truce in Gaza and a release of hostages have stalled, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday.
“We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this stalling,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a news conference with Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks to secure a truce in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Negotiators are trying to “move forward and put an end to the suffering that the people in Gaza are experiencing and returning the hostages”, sheikh Mohammed said.
The mediators had hoped to secure a ceasefire before the start of Ramadan – which ended last week – but progress repeatedly faltered without any cessation of hostilities.
The Qatari premier said Doha had “warned from the beginning of this war against the expansion of the circle of conflict, and today we see conflicts on different fronts”.
“We constantly call on the international community to assume its responsibilities and stop this war,” he added, saying people of Gaza faced “siege and starvation” with humanitarian aid being used as a “tool for political blackmail”.
There are Israeli media reports that up to six people have been injured in Arab al-Aramshe in northern Israel by the impact of a rocket or missile.
More details soon …
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will visit Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Reuters reports.
Speaking to Hebrew media outlet Ynet, one of the fathers of those being held by Hamas in Gaza, Eli Shatvi, has urged Israel to extend its ground offensive to Rafah as the only means of getting his son back.
He said “We need to enter Rafah as soon as possible. Don’t wait and say ‘we have a date’ – enter and defeat Hamas. Nothing else will help.”
Referring to the fact that Israel believes many of those held in Gaza are no longer alive, and that Hamas itself appears to have said it does not have enough living hostages who met the criteria for an exchange, Shatvi said “We talked about 40 abductees, and they are down to 20, and even less than that. We need to go into Rafah and look for every piece of information, otherwise we will not achieve anything. It is simply impossible to reach an agreement with Hamas.”
Here is the video clip of UK foreign secretary David Cameron speaking to the media during his visit to Israel. He said “It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,’ after Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone strike at the weekend. Cameron added that the UK “hopes they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible”.
Qatar PM: Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks at 'delicate phase'
Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday talks on a Gaza ceasefire and a release of hostages are at a “delicate phase”.
“We are trying as much as possible to address this stumbling block,” Reuters reports he added, without giving further details.
Qatar has frequently sounded upbeat about the prospects for a deal, but negotiations have been carrying on for months since the collapse of the first temporary pause in fighting and release of some hostages in November last year.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has reiterated the Russian position on the need for de-escalation in the Middle East, and said Russia was in contact with both Iran and Israel.
President Vladimir Putin spoke with his Iranian counterpart yesterday, and Reuters reports Peskov said Russia continues to have close contacts with Iran and also has constructive contacts with Israel.
He declined to comment when asked if Iran had notified Russia of its intention to attack Israel ahead of time.
Here are some more pictures from Iran’s army day parade in Tehran, which was attended by president Ebrahim Raisi. The parade included equipment as well as a truck bearing an anti-US message.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israel has “intensified airstrikes on Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip, killing dozens and injuring others with various wounds, amid widespread property destruction.”
It said a Wafa correspondent reported that six people were killed and a number of others wounded when Sheikh Radwan Market, north of Gaza City, was bombed.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi will visit Pakistan “very soon”, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The two countries exchanged missile strikes in January, with each claiming it was targeting separatist militants based inside their neighbour.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog has thanked the UK foreign secretary David Cameron and Germany’s foreign secretary Annalena Baerbock for visiting Israel, and posted to social media to say they had a “warm discussion”.
Herzog said:
Thank you for both the UK and Germany’s strong stand alongside Israel in the face of the reprehensible attack by Iran. The whole world must work decisively and defiantly against the threat posed by the Iranian regime which is seeking to undermine the stability of the whole region.
Israel is unequivocal in its commitment to defending its people. The immediate return home of all the hostages held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza remains for us – and the international community – a top priority, while we continue to advance and dramatically upgrade humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
In its latest update yesterday, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said “There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north. Since the beginning of April, an average of 181 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza per day via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah land crossings. This remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 trucks per day.”
Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 33,899 Palestinians and wounded 76,664 more since 7 October, according to the latest figures from the heath ministry there.
Reuters reports that the Hamas-led health ministry said 56 Palestinians had been killed and 89 injured in the past 24 hours. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
UK foreign secretary Cameron: 'clear the Israelis are making a decision to act'
Speaking to reporters in Israel, the UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron has said “It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” and that “We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible.”
Reuters reports he also said that the UK wanted to see new sanctions Iran, saying “They need to be given a clear unequivocal message by the G7.”
He said he was in Jerusalem to “show solidarity after that appalling attack by Iran”, saying:
It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible. And in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.
While in Israel Cameron is expected to meet prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, as well as visiting the occupied West Bank. Cameron will then travel from the Middle East on to the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
Lorenzo Tondo is in Palermo for the Guardian
Italy has ramped up security measures at key locations, dispatching more than 400 police officers to Capri as the picturesque island prepares itself to host the G7 talks on Wednesday amid escalating tensions triggered by the recent Iranian drone and missile strike on Israel.
Authorities have established a red zone in Capri, focusing on the iconic luxury hotel Quisisana, where a significant portion of the meetings will take place and where Oscar Wilde stayed after his release from Reading gaol.
Access points have been set up in the city centre, with checks on residents and workers. Diplomats and G7 ministers, expected to arrive in Capri early Wednesday afternoon, will reach the island aboard naval patrol boats. Some will arrive by helicopter.
Following Iran’s attack on Israel, interior ministry sources emphasised the threat of so-called lone wolves to Italy’s national security. They underscored the ongoing focus on irregular migration flows to identify potentially risky individuals, with continued controls at the eastern border in place.
The Middle East crisis and terrorism alarm for Europe will be central topics during the G7 talks. Foreign ministers from the seven countries will discuss new sanctions against Iran in the aftermath of the Israel attack. Antonio Tajani, the Italian foreign minister, highlighted Italy’s willingness to consider new sanctions against individuals implicated in actions against Israel.
He suggested that any new measures would be focused on individuals rather than whole nations.
“If we need to have more sanctions for people clearly engaged against Israel, supporting for example terrorism, supporting Hamas, it is possible to do it. But we need to be very serious and to work all together,” Tajani told Reuters.
Tajani called the Iranian attack a “big mistake” for Tehran but “positive” for Israel as it had revealed the efficiency of its air defences that shot down most of the drones and missiles with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.
Tajani also reiterated that Italy was firmly opposed to any Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and repeated his call for a ceasefire, while also calling on Hamas to set free all the hostages it took during the 7 October attack.
“All together we want to protect Israel, but we want to achieve stability and peace,” he said. “We are friends of Israel, but we want to work for peace, including via the possible sending of troops if a Palestinian state is to be created, along with forces from other countries”.
Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran for Al Jazeera, has some extra detail on how Iran’s army day has been broadcast in Iran. She writes:
The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi spoke two hours ago but his words were not broadcast live. What we’ve seen over the past few minutes is a videotaped feed of the president’s speech. The event in the past was held outside Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum in Tehran. But because of security concerns, it was moved to a military base east of the capital this year.
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday said that the slighest aggresion by Israel on Iran’s soil would trigger a “powerful and fierce blow”.
The remarks, reported by Iran’s state news agency IRNA, were made during a parade for Iran’s national army day. It quoted Raisi saying “The army stands by the nation and acts to defend the homeland, territorial integrity, and the values of the Islamic Revolution.”
The Times of Israel notes that the location of the parade has moved from its usual location without explanation, and it was not broadcast live on state TV as it has been in the past.
Here are some more pictures sent over the news wires from Rafah showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike there.
Reuters, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reports that Iran’s navy is to begin escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea.
Jason Burke reports for the Guardian from Jerusalem:
Israel’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.
Ministries and offices within the Israeli government are behind all the largest and most contentious of the projects, sometimes in association with rightwing nationalist groups with a history of trying to evict Palestinians from their homes in parts of the city.
The rapid approval or construction of settlements that are illegal under international law is likely to further damage Israel’s relationship with the Biden administration.
“The fast-tracking of these plans has been unparalleled in the last six months,” said Sari Kronish, from the Israeli human rights organisation Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. “While many government bodies were shuttered or had limited operation following 7 October, the planning authorities continued to plough forward, advancing these plans at unprecedented speed.”
The new settlements will offer homes for Israel’s majority Jewish population in parts of Jerusalem that were unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1980, and are likely to be an obstacle to any attempt to create a viable Palestinian state with the east of the city as its capital.
Read more of Jason Burke’s report here: Israel has sped up settlement-building in East Jerusalem since Gaza war began
Israel’s military, without reporting any damage or casualties, has said in a statement that “several launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory”. It said “IDF soldiers struck the sources of the launches.”
Al Jazeera reports that at least 20 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on homes in Rafah, Maghazi and Gaza City since yesterday afternoon. These pictures show Palestinians searching through the rubble overnight after a strike in Rafah. Israel’s military has repeatedly ordered Palestinians to move south in the Gaza Strip to Rafah, which is now severely overcrowded and where many people are being forced to live in makeshift tent camps.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza.
In an interview with daily La Stampa, Reuters reports Tajani said “a ceasefire is necessary. Israel must stop the military operations that have massively affected the Palestinian population.”
The Hamas-led health authority in the Gaza Strip has put the death toll from the Israeli military operation at over 33,000 people.
In its latest military update on its operation in Gaza, the IDF has claimed to have killed “a number of terrorists”.
It claims Israeli aircraft “struck over 40 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including underground launching posts, booby-trapped structures, military structures where armed terrorists operated, observation posts, underground terrorist infrastructure and additional terrorist infrastructure.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
UK foreign secretary David Cameron lands in Israel
The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron has landed in Israel, the BBC reports. He is expected to meet Benjamin Netanyahu.
This follows a call between the Israeli prime minister and the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak yesterday, after which Sunak posted to social media to say:
Earlier today I spoke to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated our support for Israel’s security following Iran’s reckless attack at the weekend. Further significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region. This is a moment for calm heads to prevail.
US expected to impose new sanctions on Iran after attack on Israel
Both national security adviser Jake Sullivan and US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen spoke yesterday about the prospect of new US sanctions on Iran.
In a statement Sullivan said:
In the coming days, the US will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s defence ministry. We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions.
[The administration] continue to work through the Department of Defense and US Central Command to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defence and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities.
On Tuesday Yellen said the US would use sanctions “to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity.”
Opening summary
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Middle East crisis. Here’s a snapshot of the latest news to bring you up to speed.
The US and the EU are planning to impose new sanctions on Iran over its attack on Israel, with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, saying they will target Tehran’s missile and drone program, Revolutionary Guard and defence ministry.
Sullivan said the sanctions would be implemented in the coming days, and added that Washington expected its allies to follow suit. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said after an emergency meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers that it would prepare to expand its sanctions.
At the UN, secretary general António Guterres called for “urgent de-escalation” of Middle East hostilities during a phone call with Iran’s foreign minister, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.
In other key developments:
Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s top diplomat in the UK has claimed, in his first interview since Tehran’s attack on Israel. Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin also warned that if Israel made “another mistake” by launching an attack on Iran, there would be a response from Iran that was stronger, more severe and administered without a warning like that issued before the weekend attack.
Israeli tanks pushed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday which they had left weeks ago, while warplanes conducted airstrikes on Rafah, the Palestinians’ last refuge in the territory’s south, killing and wounding several people, medics and residents said. In northern Gaza, residents reported an internet outage in the areas of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia. Tanks advanced into Beit Hanoun and surrounded some schools where displaced families had taken refuge, said the residents and Hamas media outlets.
An Israeli airstrike killed 11 Palestinians, including children, in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza later on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials and Hamas media said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. In al-Nusseirat refugee camp, residents said Israeli planes had bombed and destroyed four multi-storey residential buildings.
Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three people including a Hezbollah field commander on Tuesday, Lebanese security sources said – an uptick in violence after at least a week of relative calm in more than half a year of hostilities. The Israeli military said Ismail Baz, killed in a strike on a car near the southern town of Ain Ebel, was the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector and was involved in planning rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israel. Hezbollah issued a statement mourning Baz’s death but did not elaborate on his role in the organisation.
At least 33,843 Palestinians have been killed and 76,575 wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on 7 October, according to the latest figures by the territory’s health ministry on Tuesday. The Hamas-led ministry said there had been 46 Palestinians killed and 110 injured over the past 24 hours.
More than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, UN Women said in a new report. Among those were an estimated 6,000 mothers, leaving 19,000 children orphaned, the UN agency said.
The UN human rights office said Israel was still imposing “unlawful” restrictions on humanitarian relief for Gaza, despite assertions from Israel and others that barriers have eased. The amount of aid now entering Gaza is disputed amid reports famine has already taken hold in some areas, with Israel and Washington saying aid flows have risen in recent days but UN agencies say it is still far below bare minimum levels.
The UN and the UK have voiced grave concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces “immediately” stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory. The comments came hours after two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of Nablus. Palestinians said the incident followed a clash when settlers entered Palestinian-owned land and assaulted residents, while settlers said it began with an assault on a Jewish person.
Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly avoiding a call from the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, after the pair were scheduled to speak on Monday, according to a report. Sunak, addressing the House of Commons on Monday, said he would “shortly be speaking to prime minister Netanyahu” to “discuss how we can prevent further escalation” in the face of Iran’s attack.
A UN security council committee considering an application by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to become a full UN member “was unable to make a unanimous recommendation” on whether it met the criteria, according to the committee report. The PA is still expected to push the 15-member security council to vote, as early as this week, on a draft resolution recommending it become a full UN member, diplomats said. Such membership would effectively recognise a Palestinian state. But the application needs to be approved by the security council, where the US can block it, and then by at least two-thirds of the general assembly.
Vladimir Putin urged all sides in the Middle East to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation which he warned would be fraught with catastrophic consequences for the region, the Kremlin said. Putin spoke to Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, by phone about what the Kremlin called “retaliatory measures taken by Tehran”.
More than a dozen humanitarian groups have signed a letter warning that the escalating tensions in the Middle East are “threatening the lives of millions of civilians”. The groups including Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee and Norwegian Refugee Council urged de-escalation.
