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Live: Iran accuses Israel of strike that killed high-ranking Iranian general in Syria
Iran has accused Israel of being behind Monday’s deadly strike in Syria that killed a high-ranking Iranian general. Israel has not yet commented on the accusations, but Iranian officials and allied militant groups in the region have vowed revenge. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
Issued on: 26/12/2023 – 07:51
1 min
An undated handout of Razi Moussavi, a senior general with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who was killed in an airstrike in Syria on December 25, 2023. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which
Razi Moussavi, un chef des Gardiens de la révolution islamique d’Iran, a été tué par une frappe israélienne en Syrie, le 25 décembre 2023. © Ho, Tasmin News, AFP
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FRANCE 24
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FRANCE 24
Summary:
Iran claims that an Israeli airstrike in a Damascus neighborhood on Monday killed Seyed Razi Mousavi, a long-time adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal late Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted peace can only be achieved in Gaza if Hamas is destroyed, the territory demilitarised and Palestinian society “deradicalised”.
At least 20,674 people have been killed and 54,536 injured in Israel’s ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children.
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Israel PM says no peace until Hamas destroyed
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has insisted peace can only be achieved in Gaza if Hamas is destroyed, the territory demilitarised and Palestinian society “deradicalised”, after warning the war is set to intensify.
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday night, Netanyahu said demilitarisation “will require establishing a temporary security zone on the perimeter” of the territory, and that “for the foreseeable future Israel will have to retain overriding security responsibility over Gaza”.
Netanyahu also visited Gaza on Monday, telling a meeting of his Likud party after his return: “We’re not stopping”, and “we’re intensifying the fighting in the coming days”.
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Iran says high-ranking Iranian general killed in Israeli air strike in Syria
An Israeli air strike targeting a Damascus neighborhood killed the high-ranking Iranian general Seyed Razi Mousavi on Monday, Iranian state media said.
Iranian officials and allied militant groups in the region vowed revenge for the killing but did not immediately launch any retaliatory strike.
The killing of Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria, comes amid ongoing fears of the Israel-Hamas war sparking a regional spillover. Iran-backed groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq have launched attacks on Israel and its allies in support of Hamas.
Neither the Israeli military nor Syrian state media immediately issued a statement about Monday’s attack. Israeli officials declined to comment.
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Key developments from Monday:
Israels Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the Gaza Strip and vowed to step up the army’s assault in the Palestinian territory.
Pope Francis called for the end of the war in Gaza in his annual Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” mass, and urged for the liberation of hostages.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN’s counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, Reuters)
