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AS IT HAPPENED
US sends reinforcements to Middle East, Hezbollah targets Israeli positions
The United States on Friday said it was sending reinforcements to the Middle East amid growing fears that Iran could attack Israel in retaliation for what it claims was an Israeli strike last week on its consulate in Syria. A high-ranking officer of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was killed in the attack. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, meanwhile, said it had targeted Israeli artillery positions Friday in response to what it said was Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Read our liveblog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.
Issued on: 12/04/2024 – 05:13
Modified: 12/04/2024 – 22:22
2 min
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel over the Israeli Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, on April 12, 2024.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel over the Israeli Lebanese border, as seen from northern Israel, on April 12, 2024. © Ayal Margolin, Reuters
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This liveblog is no longer being updated. For all the latest on the Israel-Hamas war please click here.
Summary:
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Friday said it had fired dozens of rockets at Israeli artillery positions in response to Israeli strikes in the south.
The United States said Friday it was sending reinforcements to the Middle East amid growing fears that Iran will launch an attack on Israel in retaliation for what it claims was an Israeli air strike last week on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
The EU on Friday sanctioned the military and special forces wings of Hamas and the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad for widespread sexual and gender-based violence in their October 7 attacks on Israel.
Norway on Friday joined a growing list of countries, including Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia, by saying it is “ready to recognise the state of Palestine”.
France on Friday warned its citizens against travelling to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories due to heightened tensions following last week’s attack on Iran’s diplomatic mission in Syria.
At least 33,634 Palestinians have been killed and 76,214 injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Around 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
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12 hours ago
12 hours ago
Hunt for Israeli teen missing in West Bank turns violent
Israel launched a massive manhunt in the occupied West Bank Friday after an Israeli teenager went missing, with the search party clashing with Palestinian villagers, sources from both sides said.
Benjamin Achimeir, 14, went missing at around 6:30 am from Malachi Hashalom, an outpost near Ramallah, the Israeli army and a family member said. The Israeli army said air, ground, police and other forces were involved in the search, “blocking roads and scanning the area”. Thousands of volunteers also joined them in the search.
But the search soon turned violent as some Jewish settlers stormed the nearby village of Al-Mughayyir with guns and stones. “They raided the village when the army arrived to back them up,” village mayor Amin Abu Alyah said.
In the ensuing violence, at least one person was killed and 25 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said. Eight of the wounded were hit with live ammunition, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
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14 hours ago
Hezbollah says fired ‘dozens’ of rockets at Israeli positions
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at Israeli artillery positions Friday, a salvo it said was in response to Israeli strikes in the south.
Hezbollah fighters targeted “enemy artillery positions… with dozens of Katyusha rockets” the group said in a statement, adding it was “in response to the enemy’s attacks on… southern villages and civilian homes”.
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14 hours ago
Lufthansa stops using Iran airspace and keeps halt on Tehran flights
German airline Lufthansa said Friday its planes would no longer use Iranian airspace as it extended a suspension on flights to and from Tehran amid soaring Middle East tensions.
“Due to the current situation, Lufthansa is suspending its flights to and from Tehran up to and including Thursday, 18 April,” a company spokesperson said Friday. “The airline is also no longer using Iranian airspace.”
The flights to the Iranian capital have been suspended since April 6.
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14 hours ago
US sends reinforcements to Middle East amid fears of Iran attack
The United States said Friday it was sending reinforcements to the Middle East as fears grow that Iran could soon launch an attack on Israel.
“We are moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for US forces,” said a US defense official in Washington, a key ally of Israel.
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14 hours ago
German police shut down pro-Palestinian congress in Berlin
Police interrupted and cancelled a controversial pro-Palestinian conference in Berlin less than an hour after it started on Friday, citing concerns about anti-Semitic statements.
Officers initially halted the congress because one of the speakers was subject to a ban on political activity in Germany, police wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Police did not give the name of the speaker, but participants in the congress wrote on X that it was Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta.
Police later added that they had banned the remainder of the conference, which was due to last until Sunday. “There is a risk that a speaker who has already made anti-Semitic or violence-glorifying public statements in the past will be invited to speak again,” they said.
On the congress website, the organisers denounce “Israeli apartheid and genocide” and accuse Germany of “being complicit”.
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16 hours ago
US sanctions Hamas spokesperson, drone program leaders
The United States on Friday issued sanctions aimed at the spokesperson for Hamas military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, and leaders of the group’s drone unit, the Treasury Department said.
“Treasury, in coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to target Hamas’s facilitation networks wherever they operate, including in the cyber domain,” Brian Nelson, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and Financial intelligence said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated people that are in the US or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
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17 hours ago
Iranian threat to Israel ‘real’, White House says
Tehran’s threats of reprisals against Israel after the deadly air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week remain “real”, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday.
Kirby would not confirm reports that US officials considered an Iranian attack “imminent” or comment on whether the United States would help shoot down any Iranian missiles fired at Israel.
“I would just say that we’re watching this very, very closely,” he said, adding that Washington would make sure the Israelis “have what they need and that they’re able to defend themselves”.
The United States would also look at its own force posture in the region where it has thousands of troops “to make sure that we’re we’re properly prepared”.
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17 hours ago
White House says Israel is meeting Gaza aid commitments but that more is needed
Israel is meeting its commitments in terms of opening up additional vehicle crossings to get aid into Gaza but it is not enough, the White House said on Friday, adding that the US continues to press them to do more.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby, speaking to reporters, also said the US is still awaiting a response from Hamas on the latest round ceasefire and hostage release deal talks and that it cannot verify the militant group’s claim that they do not have 40 hostages.
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17 hours ago
Norway says ready to recognise a Palestinian state
Norway is ready to recognise a Palestinian state together with other countries, its prime minister said on Friday while hosting Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, who is seeking support for the cause.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters that such a decision would need to be taken in close coordination with “like-minded countries”.
“Norway stands ready to recognise the state of Palestine,” Store told a joint press conference with Sanchez, but noted that no “firm timetable” has been set yet.
Speaking alongside Store, Sanchez said Spain was “committed to recognising Palestine as a state, as soon as possible, when the conditions are appropriate, and in a way that can have the most positive impact to the peace process.” On March 22, Spain issued a statement with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia on the sidelines of an EU leaders summit, saying they were “ready to recognise Palestine” in a move that would happen when “the circumstances are right”.
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17 hours ago
EU sanctions Hamas wings over sexual violence on October 7
EU countries on Friday put the military and special forces wings of Hamas and the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the bloc’s human rights sanctions list for their responsibility for widespread sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The EU countries said the Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades and the Nukhba Force were now subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU. The provision of funds to them, directly or indirectly, is now also prohibited. Hamas and Islamic Jihad were already designated as terrorist organisations by the EU.
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18 hours ago
First aid trucks enter Gaza through new crossing, Israeli army says
The first trucks carrying food aid entered Gaza through the newly opened northern crossing point on Thursday, the military said on Friday, as Israel stepped up supplies following mounting pressure to ease the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
It said the trucks were inspected at the Kerem Shalom crossing point on the border with Egypt before moving north to cross. Israel had said earlier this month it would re-open the Erez crossing point that had been closed since the start of the war with Hamas last October.
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18 hours ago
Five Palestinians sue Germany over weapons to Israel
Five Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have filed a legal complaint in Berlin against the German government over its delivery of weapons to Israel, an NGO representing them said Friday.
The complaint seeks to “revoke the export licences issued by the German government for arms deliveries to Israel”, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) said in a statement.
The five Palestinians, who live in different parts of the Gaza Strip, have all had family members killed in Israeli missile attacks on the territory since Israel launched its counteroffensive six months ago, the ECCHR said. The plaintiffs say Germany is failing to fulfil its obligations under international law, including the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
Germany is the second biggest arms exporter to Israel after the US, accounting for 30 percent of imports between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
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19 hours ago
Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians early Friday in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
One man was killed when Israeli soldiers opened fire on his vehicle in the city of Tubas, Wafa reported, while the other was shot dead as troops raided the Al-Fara refugee camp.
The Israeli military said it “eliminated” two militants including Hamas member Mohammad Omar Draghmeh, describing him as “a central figure” in planning Hamas attacks.
“The terrorist shot at security forces who responded with fire and eliminated him,” the military said, adding that troops found weapons in his vehicle.
The area around Tubas in the northern West Bank is a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the frequent target of Israeli military incursions.
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19 hours ago
Israel pounds Gaza as Iran’s threats of attack put region on edge
Residents reported heavy Israeli fire in central Gaza on Friday, with regional tensions soaring after Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals.
As ceasefire talks aiming to pause the six-month-old war dragged on, fears that Iran could soon launch an attack on Israel spurred France to recommend its citizens avoid travelling to the region.
Mohammed al-Rayes, 61, told AFP that he fled Israeli “air strikes and artillery shelling” in Nuseirat, central Gaza overnight.
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a day ago
France urges no travel to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories
France on Friday warned its citizens to “imperatively refrain from travel in the coming days to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories”, the foreign minister’s entourage told AFP.
Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné issued the recommendation after Iran threatened reprisals over an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, sparking fears of an escalation of violence in the Middle East.
In a statement on X, the foreign ministry added that relatives of Iran-based diplomats will return to France and that French civil servants are now banned from conducting any missions in the three listed countries and the Palestinian Territories.
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a day ago
China urges US to play ‘constructive role’ in Middle East
China urged the United States to play “a constructive role” in the Middle East on Friday after its top diplomat Wang Yi spoke with his US counterpart Antony Blinken over the phone.
Blinken used the call to ask Beijing to use its influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, the State Department said. Concerns of retaliation by Tehran have grown after an Israeli strike on April 1 levelled an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus.
China on Friday confirmed the call had taken place, saying Wang “expressed China’s strong condemnation of the attack” while emphasising the “inviolable” right to security of diplomatic institutions and the need to respect the sovereignty of Iran and Syria.
“China will continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the Middle East issue … and contribute to cooling down the situation,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning added.
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a day ago
At least 33,634 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, says health ministry
At least 33,634 Palestinians have been killed and 76,214 injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since October 7, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement on Friday.
Over the past day, 89 Palestinians were killed and 120 were injured, the ministry added.
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a day ago
US military says it destroyed an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Yemen
The US military said on Thursday it had destroyed an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
US Central Command said in a written statement that no injuries or damage were reported to US, coalition or merchant vessels, reported Reuters.
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11th Apr
23:17
Netanyahu says Israel is preparing for scenarios in areas other than Gaza
Israel is keeping up its war in Gaza but is also preparing for scenarios in other areas, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, amid concern that Iran was preparing to strike Israel in response for the killing of senior commanders in an attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria.
“Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said in comments released by his office following a visit to the Tel Nof air force base in southern Israel.
Israel has been bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the killing of a senior general and six other officers in an air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. Israel has not said it was responsible but Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that Israel “must be punished and it shall be” for the attack.
Israel’s chief military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said civilians were not being told to make any special preparations but added Israel was “highly prepared for a range of scenarios”.
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11th Apr
23:12
Israelis protest against Netanyahu government and call for hostages to be released
Protesters took to streets in Tel Aviv on Thursday night to demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government and call for the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Demonstrators carried large photos of hostages as well as signs with slogans, some in English and some in Hebrew.
At the beginning of the month, tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem in the largest anti-government protest since the country went to war in October. Nearly six months of conflict have renewed divisions over Netanyahu’s leadership, although the country remains largely in favor of the war.
Netanyahu says early elections would paralyse Israel for six to eight months and stall the hostage talks. He has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, but those goals have been elusive.
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Yesterday’s key developments
The US military on Thursday said it had shot down 11 drones belonging to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels after the group claimed it had targeted Israeli and American ships off the Gulf of Aden.
The US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk called the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Iraq to ask them to deliver a message to Iran urging it to lower tensions with Israel following the suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate building in Syria, a source with knowledge of the situation said to Reuters.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and 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 AFP, AP & Reuters)
