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Live: Israeli air strikes killed two soldiers, Iranian army says
MIDDLE EAST
Israel has launched air strikes on Iran in a retaliatory attack that could push the Middle East closer to a regional war. Explosions were reported around Tehran in the early hours of Saturday as Israeli jets struck what were described as “military targets” in the country. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in the Middle East.
Issued on: 26/10/2024 – 07:03
Modified: 26/10/2024 – 11:42
1 min
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FRANCE 24
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FRANCE 24
The city skyline is pictured at dawn after several explosions were heard in Tehran on October 26, 2024.
The city skyline is pictured at dawn after several explosions were heard in Tehran on October 26, 2024. © Atta Kenare, AFP
SUMMARY
Israel army says struck Iran’s missile manufacturing facilities
Iran says Israeli strikes targeted military bases in 3 provinces, causing ‘limited damage’
Israeli response targeted and proportional, US official says
19 minutes ago
Hezbollah claims first targeting of Tel Aviv-area air base
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement on Saturday said it had launched drones against an Israeli air base south of Tel Aviv, its first claimed attack against the facility.
At war with Israel since last month, after a year of tit-for-tat cross border exchanges, Hezbollah regularly announces the targeting of Israeli military facilities but its statement that it launched “an aerial attack with drones” against Tel Nof base was the first claim of its kind in one year.
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26 minutes ago
Egypt voices grave concern over Israeli airstrikes on Iran
Egypt is gravely concerned over the escalation in the Middle East including the Israeli air attack on Iran, and condemns all measures that threaten regional security and stability, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
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an hour ago
Iran says it has a ‘duty’ to defend itself, after Israeli strikes
Iran is “entitled and obligated to defend itself against external aggressive acts”, its foreign ministry said on Saturday after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military targets.
Calling the Israeli attack a violation of international law, the ministry said in a statement that Tehran “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security”.
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an hour ago
Israeli targeting of out-of-service nuclear site in Iran crosses ‘red line’
In the wake of Israeli air strikes on Iran, questions are mounting over how Iran may respond to the attacks.
An attempted strike near an out-of-service nuclear site crossed a “red line” for the Islamic Republic, said FRANCE 24’s Saeed Azimi , reporting from Tehran.
US officials said Israeli targets did not include energy infrastructure or Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In addition, Iran’s army said two of its soldiers were killed by the attacks. The deaths “make it difficult for Iran not to respond”, Azimi said.
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an hour ago
Syria says backs Iran’s ‘right to defend itself’ after Israeli strikes
Syria condemned Israeli air strikes against Iran on Saturday, saying it affirmed its ally’s right to self-defence.
Expressing its “solidarity” with Iran, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that it supported “Iran’s legitimate right to defend itself and protect its territory and the lives of its citizens”.
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an hour ago
Iraq warns against global ‘silence’ over Israeli actions
Iraq denounced global inaction against Israel which it accused of expanding conflict in the Middle East, after strikes against Iran on Saturday.
“The occupying Zionist entity continues its aggressive policies and widening the conflict in the region through blatant attacks that it carries out with impunity,” including against Iranian targets, government spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement denouncing “the international community’s silence” on Israeli actions.
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an hour ago
Lebanon state media says Israel army blows up houses in border village
Lebanese state media said the Israeli army dynamited houses in a Lebanese border village on Saturday, more than a month into its war with Hezbollah.
The official National News Agency said “the army of the Israeli enemy has since dawn blown up and destroyed houses” in the border village of Adaisseh.
The Israeli military had earlier reported “the explosion of a large quantity of explosives in Lebanon” that was strong enough to trigger earthquake warnings in large parts of Israel.
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2 hours ago
Pakistan ‘condemns’ Israeli strikes on Iran
Pakistan condemned Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran on Saturday, saying Israel bore “full responsibility” for escalating the conflict in the Middle East.
“Pakistan strongly condemns Israel’s strikes against Islamic Republic of Iran in the early hours on Saturday,” its foreign ministry said in a statement. “These strikes undermine the path to regional peace and stability… Israel bears full responsibility for the current cycle of escalation and expansion of the conflict.”
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2 hours ago
Iran says two soldiers killed in Israeli strikes
Two soldiers were killed in Saturday morning’s Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the official news agency IRNA reported.
“The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in defending Iran’s security and protecting the people and Iran’s interests, sacrificed two of its fighters while countering projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime,” the statement said.
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2 hours ago
Hamas condemns in ‘strongest terms’ Israel strikes on Iran
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, at war with Israel in Gaza, on Saturday said it strongly condemned Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran.
“We… condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the targeting of military sites in several provinces”, the movement said in a statement, calling the move “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region”.
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2 hours ago
UAE condemns military targeting of Iran, urges ‘maximum restraint’
The United Arab Emirates on Saturday condemned the military targeting of Iran and stressed the importance of exercising “maximum restraint” to avoid escalation, after Israel carried out airstrikes on military sites in Iran.
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2 hours ago
Emirati airline flydubai cancels flights to Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel
Emirati airline flydubai cancelled flights to Jordan, Iran, Iraq and Israel and diverted others on Saturday, a company spokesperson said, shortly after Israel struck military targets in Iran.
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3 hours ago
British PM Starmer says Iran should not respond to Israeli strikes
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday Iran should not respond to a wave of Israeli strikes, urging restraint on all sides.
“On the question of the strikes, I think we need to be really clear that Israel does have the right to defend itself, but we are urging, and have been urging all sides to show restraint, and that is why I am very clear today, Iran should not be responding to this,” he said in Samoa, where he is attending a Commonwealth summit.
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4 hours ago
Israel army says intercepts drone crossing into Israel from Lebanon
The Israeli military said it intercepted a drone crossing into Israel from Lebanon on Saturday, hours after Israel struck several military targets inside Iran.
“Following the sirens that sounded between 08:39 (05:39 GMT) and 08:41 in the Upper Galilee area, the IAF (air force) intercepted a UAV that crossed into Israel from Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
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4 hours ago
Israeli strikes hit ‘densely populated area’ in Tehran
Israel’s overnight air strike on Iran hit a “densely populated area” in south west Tehran and targeted a sensitive nuclear site outside the capital says FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Tehran, Saeed Azimi.
Details of the overnight attack are still emerging. “We have no knowledge of what Israel used. Israel said five fighter jets were involved, but we didn’t see any fighter jets in the skies,” Azimi added.
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4 hours ago
Saudi Arabia condemns military targeting of Iran as ‘violation of its sovereignty’, state news agency says
Saudi Arabia on Saturday condemned the military targeting of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and calling on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.
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5 hours ago
Iran to resume flights after Israeli attack, says aviation authority
Iran announced on Saturday the resumption of flights after a brief suspension following an Israeli attack that targeted several military sites in the country.
“Flights will return to normal from 9am (05:30 GMT) on Saturday,” the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organisation said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
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5 hours ago
Israel says it has ‘wider freedom’ in air over Iran after strikes
The Israeli military said its strikes targeting Iran’s air defences on Saturday had given it more freedom to operate in skies over Iran.
“Now, the state of Israel has wider freedom of action in the air over Iran as well,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.
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5 hours ago
Israeli response targeted and proportional, US official says
Israel’s strikes on military sites in Iran appear to have been a targeted and proportional response to Tehran’s earlier attacks, with low risk of civilian harm, a senior Biden administration official said late on Friday.
This should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, the official said, adding that the US has multiple direct and indirect channels of communication with Iran where it has made its position clear.
“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” said US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett.
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5 hours ago
Israel army warns Iran will ‘pay heavy price’ if it begins new round of escalation
The Israeli military warned Iran on Saturday that the Islamic republic would “pay a heavy price” if it began a new round of escalation after Israel carried out air strikes in Iran.
“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond. Our message is clear: All those who threaten the State of Israel and seek to drag the region into a wider escalation will pay a heavy price,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
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5 hours ago
Iran says Israeli strikes targeted military bases in three provinces, causing ‘limited damage’
Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage”.
The statement from Iran’s armed forces was read aloud on state television, which showed no images of the damage described. Iran’s military claimed its air defences limited the damage done by the strikes, without providing additional evidence.
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5 hours ago
Israel army says struck Iran’s missile manufacturing facilities
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had completed its air attack on Iran, saying it hit the Islamic republic’s missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other aerial capabilities across several areas of the country.
“Based on intelligence, IAF (air force) aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” the military said in a statement.
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5 hours ago
Welcome to our live blog, where we post the latest news on the war in the Middle East. To read all about yesterday’s key developments, click here.
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Yesterday’s key developments:
Lebanese state media said Friday three journalists were killed in an Israeli air strike overnight in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria.
The Israeli army said that five soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon.
The UN rights chief said the “darkest moment” of the conflict in Gaza was unfolding in the north of the territory, warning that Israel’s actions could amount to “atrocity crimes”. The World Health Organization said it had lost contact with staff at northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital, after the Israeli army said it was operating in the area.
Lebanon’s Transport minister said Friday that Israeli bombing put a second border crossing between the country and Syria out of service — leaving one official passage between the two nations operational.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)
