Israel-Iran latest: Tehran warns it is ‘obligated’ to defend itself in wake of Israeli revenge strikes
Two soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes on Iran as Hamas says attack is an ‘escalation’
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Iran has said it is “obligated and entitled to defend itself” after Israeli revenge strikes hit military sites on Saturday.
The attack, which Israel described as “precise and targeted”, further escalates the conflict between the two adversaries and risks a wider war in the Middle East.
Multiple countries have condemned the “dangerous” escalation and called for “regional peace and stability”. The Israeli strikes were in response to a barrage of missiles launched by Iran in early October. A Biden official has said that the latest strikes from Israel “should be the end” of the tit-for-tat conflict between the two countries.
The attack began shortly after 2am local time as Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran and surrounding areas.
Iran’s air defences reportedly intercepted many of the Israeli drones and missiles over the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, and Tehran said the attack caused only “limited damage”.
Hamas has said that the strikes are a “flagrant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region.”
Flight paths show cancelled flights over Iran
Photo taken early on Saturday shows how commercial flights were forced to avoid Iran after Israel carried out strikes on military targets in the country.
Iran suspended all flights on Saturday following the attack.
Pictured: Israeli jets shown before strikes on Iran
New photos have been published by the Israeli army of their operation to strike military targets in Iran.
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.
The final photo shows an Israeli helicopter firing a missile towards southern Lebanon, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
President Biden says he hopes Israeli strikes against Iran are at an end
US president Joe Biden has said he hopes that Israeli strikes against Iran are at an end.
He said that it appeared that Israel had only struck military targets in its attack on Iran, and that he hoped they were “the end”.
42,924 people killed in Gaza offensive, Hamas-run health ministry says
At least 42,924 people have been killed and 100,833 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said.
Hezbollah says it has launched a drone attack on Israeli airbase
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said on Saturday it had launched a drone attack at Israel’s Tel Nof airbase south of Tel Aviv and targeted an intelligence base in northern Safed with rockets.
Israel said it had struck Hezbollah facilities in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb including a weapons-making site and an intelligence headquarters.
The conflict in Lebanon, which has greatly intensified in recent weeks, has also led to strikes on sites linked to Iran and Hezbollah in Syria.
Israel launched airstrikes against some military sites in central and southern Syria early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.
Israeli army leaves north Gaza hospital
Israeli forces withdrew from a hospital complex in northern Gaza on Saturday, one day after storming it, and the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said the troops had detained dozens of male medical staffers and some of the patients.
Health officials said on Friday Israeli forces had stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities struggling to operate in the area, and also stationed forces outside it.
Footage circulated by the health ministry - which media could not immediately verify - showed damage to several buildings after the Israeli forces withdrew.
Medics said at least 44 of the facility’s 70-member team of the hospital had been detained by the army. It later said the army had released 14 of them, including the hospital’s director.
An Israeli military spokesperson declined comment on the hospital report. On Friday the Israeli military said it operated in the area of the hospital based on intelligence “regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” there.
Medics said at least two children had died inside the intensive care unit after Israeli fire hit the generators and oxygen station in the facility on Friday.
Medical staffers have refused Israeli army orders to evacuate the hospital or leave their patients unattended. Before the army raid, medics said at least 600 people had been in the hospital, including patients and their escorts.
Watch: Strong explosions heard in Iran's capital following Israeli airstrikes
Bahrain joins countries condemning Israel’s strikes and calling for peace
Bahrain’s foreign ministry has condemned military action against Iran, urging an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians and reduce regional tensions, after Israel carried out airstrikes on Iranian military targets.
Recap: UN Human Rights Chief warns Israel subjecting northern Gaza to starvation
UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned on Friday of a developing crisis in the north of Gaza.
He said that the Israeli military is effectively subjecting an entire population to “bombing, siege and risk of starvation”.
He has called on world leaders to act. In a statement Mr Turk said: “The Israeli military has ordered hundreds of thousands to move, with no guarantees of return. But there is no safe way to leave: the bombs continue to fall; the Israeli military is separating families and detaining many people; and people fleeing have been reportedly shot at.
“Unimaginably, the situation is getting worse by the day. The Israeli government’s policies and practices in northern Gaza risk emptying the area of all Palestinians. We are facing what could amount to atrocity crimes, including potentially extending to crimes against humanity.”
He added: “Next to no aid has reached the area in weeks, with unlawful restrictions remaining, and many are now facing starvation.”
He reminded world leaders of their obligations under the Genocide Convention, saying: “State parties also have the responsibility to act to prevent such a crime, when risk becomes apparent.”
Pictured: The scene in Tehran after Israel carries out strikes on military targets in Iran
Life in Iran’s capital Tehran carried on as normal on Saturday, following Israeli strikes on military sites across the country. People were photographed heading to work and going about their business as planned.
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