Islamic republic’s UN mission says an ‘obliterating war will ensue’ if Israel launches ‘full-scale military aggression’ in Lebanon
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis. Here’s a snapshot of the latest news.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations has warned that if Israel embarks on a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, “an obliterating war will ensue”.
Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of Gaza on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush neighbourhood of Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to nearby Khan Younis.
Airstrikes hit five homes in Gaza City’s Shijaiyah neighbourhood, killing at least three people and injuring another six, civil defence responders said. Rescuers were still digging through the rubble for survivors, it said. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said the number killed in Shijaiyah by Israeli strikes was at least seven.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted several strikes in northern Gaza and that “dozens of terrorists who were hiding in Unrwa schools and facilities were eliminated”. It also said a fighter jet struck a Hamas operative in a building in central Gaza’s Deir al Balah, within the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone”. Ahead of the strike, it said, it worked to evacuate the civilian population from the area of the building.
Israeli soldiers have destroyed 11 homes and other structures in an isolated community in the West Bank, leaving 50 people homeless, amid a reported increase in house demolitions and spiralling violence in the occupied territory. Contractors with bulldozers accompanied by IDF troops arrived in Umm al-Kheir, a village mostly home to shepherds, on Wednesday and about a third of the village’s infrastructure was destroyed.
An intervention by the UK government at the international criminal court is expected to delay a decision over whether an arrest warrant can be issued against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for alleged war crimes in Gaza. ICC judges ruled on Thursday they would allow the UK to make legal arguments in the case as they consider whether to approve requests made by the ICC’s chief prosecutor for warrants against Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
The Biden administration has sent Israel large numbers of munitions – including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound (907kg) bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles – since the start of the war in Gaza, Reuters reported two US officials as saying. Between October and recent days, the US has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who had been briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments but were not authorised to speak publicly. The officials didn’t give a timeline for the shipments but the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in US military support for its ally, despite a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs.
Continue reading…Islamic republic’s UN mission says an ‘obliterating war will ensue’ if Israel launches ‘full-scale military aggression’ in LebanonHello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis. Here’s a snapshot of the latest news.Iran’s mission to the United Nations has warned that if Israel embarks on a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, “an obliterating war will ensue”.Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of Gaza on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush neighbourhood of Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to nearby Khan Younis.Airstrikes hit five homes in Gaza City’s Shijaiyah neighbourhood, killing at least three people and injuring another six, civil defence responders said. Rescuers were still digging through the rubble for survivors, it said. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said the number killed in Shijaiyah by Israeli strikes was at least seven.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted several strikes in northern Gaza and that “dozens of terrorists who were hiding in Unrwa schools and facilities were eliminated”. It also said a fighter jet struck a Hamas operative in a building in central Gaza’s Deir al Balah, within the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone”. Ahead of the strike, it said, it worked to evacuate the civilian population from the area of the building.Israeli soldiers have destroyed 11 homes and other structures in an isolated community in the West Bank, leaving 50 people homeless, amid a reported increase in house demolitions and spiralling violence in the occupied territory. Contractors with bulldozers accompanied by IDF troops arrived in Umm al-Kheir, a village mostly home to shepherds, on Wednesday and about a third of the village’s infrastructure was destroyed.An intervention by the UK government at the international criminal court is expected to delay a decision over whether an arrest warrant can be issued against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for alleged war crimes in Gaza. ICC judges ruled on Thursday they would allow the UK to make legal arguments in the case as they consider whether to approve requests made by the ICC’s chief prosecutor for warrants against Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant.The Biden administration has sent Israel large numbers of munitions – including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound (907kg) bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles – since the start of the war in Gaza, Reuters reported two US officials as saying. Between October and recent days, the US has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who had been briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments but were not authorised to speak publicly. The officials didn’t give a timeline for the shipments but the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in US military support for its ally, despite a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs. Continue reading…