David Khalfa, a Middle East expert at the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a Paris-based think-tank, said Israel has little choice but to respond to the Iranian attack "because of the scale and the fact that the nature of the targets has changed" to include sensitive military sites.
Hamas confirms death of commander in Israeli strike on West Bank
Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades has confirmed the death of one of its commanders Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi in an Israeli strike on the West Bank city of Tulkarm along with seven other fighters, the group says in a statement.
The Israeli military said that it killed Oufi, head of the Hamas network in Tulkarm, in an attack on Thursday.
Rifle in his hand, Iran's Supreme Leader warns Israel 'will not last long'
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, was seen holding a Russian-made Dragunov rifle while addressing thousands of Iranians
In a rare public address, Iran's powerful supreme leader defends missile attack on Israel and makes appeal for Muslim unity
Khamenei, speaking predominantly in Arabic but also in Farsi, urged Muslims from “Afghanistan to Yemen, and from Iran to Gaza” to be ready to take action, and praised those who had died doing so.
It was the first time the 85-year-old had led Friday prayers since the US killed the Revolutionary Guards leader Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.
The Iranian leadership aimed to show, through the size of the crowd attending the Grand Mosque, that ordinary Iranians supported the decision to attack Israel over the killings of its two allies and the Revolutionary Guards brigadier general Abbas Nilforoushan.
Despite Khamenei’s appeal for Muslim unity, the speech made little effort to build unity with moderate Arab leaders. Instead, he praised the Hamas attack on 7 October last year in which 1,200 people were killed and that triggered the Gaza war, describing it as a “legitimate act”, and insisted the root of the region’s problems lay solely in foreign interference and the actions of Israel.
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| Blogger in Dec 1998: Somewhere in western sector |
Notably, Iran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday, hitting a number of Israeli bases and causing the region to brace for Israel’s imminent anticipated response against Tehran.
Germany says an Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian city of Tulkarem in the West Bank, which killed at least 18 people, was “shocking.”
“The high number of civilian casualties in an Israeli airstrike in Tulkarem is shocking. In the fight against terror, the Israeli army is obliged to protect civilians in the West Bank,” the German foreign ministry says on X.
Israel is said to have targeted a Hamas commander planning an October 7 anniversary attack. Seven members of terror groups have been identified among the victims, which also included a brother and sister, aged 7 and 8.
US President Joe Biden says Israel has not yet decided how it’s going to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile strike.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden says during a rare appearance at the White House daily press briefing where one reporter after another asks leading questions goading him to criticize Israel.
Earlier this week, Biden said he opposed Israel targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well.
Asked whether he thinks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting diplomatic agreements in Gaza and Lebanon to influence the upcoming presidential election, Biden responds, “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none, and I think Bibi should remember that.
“As for whether he’s trying to influence the election or I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that,” Biden adds. Biden also says he assumes he will speak to Netanyahu when Israel decides on how it wants to respond to Iran.
The US military confirmed it had carried out strikes on 15 targets in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels.
Iran has "already thought things through, to some extent at least. They are ready," said Citrinowicz, suggesting that Tehran's response to any Israeli retaliation would be "swift".
Sima Shine, another Iran expert at the INSS, said that the Islamic republic possessed "undeniable" destructive capabilities. "They can launch more than 200, or even 300 missiles, and they also have drones," she said,
Ultimately, Citrinowicz said, both Iran and Israel "will look for a political solution" that may be supported by the United States and France, whose influence particularly in Lebanon could play a critical role in restoring calm.
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