Gallant to Israeli pilots: ‘after we strike in Iran, everyone will understand what you did in preparation and training’
Israeli media is reporting that defense minister Yoav Gallant has told pilots and air crews at Hatzerim Airbase “after we strike in Iran, everyone will understand what you did in the preparation and training process.”
He added “Anyone who dreamed a year ago of defeating us and striking us has paid a heavy price and is no longer in that dream.”
Israel has been expected to retaliate for waves of missiles fired at it by Iran on 1 October. One person in the occupied West Bank was killed, and two people in Israel were wounded during the Iranian strikes, which were mostly deflected by air defences. Tehran launched the assault after Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a series of strikes on the group’s underground headquarters in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut.
Earlier today, US secretary of state Antony Blinken told the media that Israel must be careful to retaliate in a way that does not further escalate tension in the region.
Key events
Israel’s military has said in a statement on its official Telegram channel that on Wednesday, as of 3pm local time (noon GMT), it had recorded about 85 projectiles being launched towards Israel from the direction of Lebanon.
In addition, an earlier statement said that during the course of the day Israel’s military had intercepted five drones attempting to cross into Israel’s airspace.
In parliament in London, the UK’s deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said that British support of Israel’s security remains “steadfast”, but that the government will always support Israel in “a manner consistent with our obligations to domestic and international law.”
Describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “dire”, Rayner said this was a “really serious and important issue,” telling MPs:
The humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is dire, and we need an immediate ceasefire and much more aid allowed to flow in, and an immediate release of all the hostages.
We have suspended UK export licenses to Israel for items which might be used in the current conflict, and this government has concluded that there is a clear risk that items exported to Israel might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
This does not change our position, of steadfast support for Israel’s security, but we will always do so in a manner consistent with our obligations to domestic and international law.
Rayner was responding to a question from Labour colleague Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent East in north-west London, who had asked what “tangible, concrete measures” the government would take if the Israeli government would not listen to pleas from prime minister Keir Starmer for more humanitarian assistance to be directed to Gaza. She told MPs:
I watched in horror and condemned the attack on 7 October by terrorist group Hamas. A year later, I watch in horror as 42,000 people are killed in Gaza, 11,000 of them children, people burned alive attached to drips, aid workers killed, and now families are starving.
The prime minister has said that the world will not stand by and see this lack of humanitarian assistance. If the Israeli government will not listen to our Prime Minister’s words, what tangible, measurable actions will we take as the UK British government?
Gallant to Israeli pilots: ‘after we strike in Iran, everyone will understand what you did in preparation and training’
Israeli media is reporting that defense minister Yoav Gallant has told pilots and air crews at Hatzerim Airbase “after we strike in Iran, everyone will understand what you did in the preparation and training process.”
He added “Anyone who dreamed a year ago of defeating us and striking us has paid a heavy price and is no longer in that dream.”
Israel has been expected to retaliate for waves of missiles fired at it by Iran on 1 October. One person in the occupied West Bank was killed, and two people in Israel were wounded during the Iranian strikes, which were mostly deflected by air defences. Tehran launched the assault after Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a series of strikes on the group’s underground headquarters in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut.
Earlier today, US secretary of state Antony Blinken told the media that Israel must be careful to retaliate in a way that does not further escalate tension in the region.
US and Israel issue warning over possible terrorist attack in Sri Lanka
Israel’s national security council called on Israelis on Wednesday to immediately leave some tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka over the threat of a possible terrorist attack, Reuters reports.
The agency said the warning pertained to the area of Arugam Bay and beaches in the south and west of Sri Lanka. The security council did not specify the exact nature of the threat and called on Israelis in the rest of Sri Lanka to be cautious and refrain from holding large gatherings in public areas.
The US embassy in Sri Lanka also released a security alert stating it had received “credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area”.
Germany’s foreign minister said in Beirut on Wednesday that her country was “in a dilemma” when it comes to exporting weapons to Israel, and added that Israel has a responsibility to abide by international law.
Annalena Baerbock added that all parties must protect the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL).
There are no indications any employees from the Office of the Secretary of Defense are being investigated for the leak of US intelligence about Israel’s preparations to strike Iran, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.
“There’s no OSD official being named as a part of this investigation,” Austin said while speaking to reporters in Rome.
The FBI said on Tuesday it was investigating the public disclosure of a pair of highly classified documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran. Austin added that he did not have any indication that “any OSD official will be implicated as a part of this.”
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian urged Wednesday members of the Brics grouping to help “end the war” in Gaza and Lebanon.
“I call on all members of the influential Brics group to use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon,” said Pezeshkian during a speech at a Brics summit in Russia.
Further to our earlier report about air raid sirens in Israel, smoke, apparently from an intercepted projectile, could be seen in the sky above the hotel where US secretary of state Antony Blinken was staying.
Blinken urged Israel to use its recent tactical victories against Hamas to seek a war-ending deal and bring back dozens of hostages, before leaving on Wednesday for Saudi Arabia as part of his 11th visit to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Summary of the day so far …
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Heavy Israeli air strikes have taken place on the historic Lebanese port city of Tyre. Israel began to bomb the Unesco-listed city roughly three hours after its military issued an order online for residents to flee central areas. Huge clouds of thick smoke billowed above residential buildings
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The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said his country is tracking “very, very, very carefully” efforts by Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the beseiged Palestinian territory of Gaza. He accused Israel of previously having fallen back on promises of sustained deliveries. Blinken said Israel’s success against Hamas had come at “great cost” to Palestinian civilians
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The US believes there is a greater chance of a hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel now that the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, Blinken said. Having described Sinwar as “the primary obstacle” to reaching a deal, it was also announced that Blinken would be in London later this week in order to meet with Arab leaders
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Israel’s military has said about 25 projectiles were fired into northern Israel on Wednesday morning from Lebanon. One Israeli woman was lightly wounded by shrapnel on Israel’s coast north of Tel Aviv
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Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that in the past 24 hours, according to medical sources, 74 civilians have been killed and 130 others injured in Gaza in what it describes as six separate attacks by Israeli forces. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict
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China’s embassy in Lebanon has suspended passport, visa and other services
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Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock is visiting Beirut. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met in Germany yesterday, and called for intensified diplomatic efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region
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Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports that a Hamas official is visiting Moscow for talks with officials, according to a diplomatic source
Israel strikes Lebanon’s Unesco-listed port city of Tyre three hours after issuing evacuation order
Heavy Israeli airstrikes have taken place on the historic Lebanese port city of Tyre.
Israel began to bomb the Unesco-listed city roughly three hours after its military issued an order online for residents to flee central areas. Huge clouds of thick smoke billowed above residential buildings.
Reuters reports that tens of thousands of people had already fled Tyre in recent weeks as Israel steps up its aerial campaign in Lebanon. About 1.2 million people have been displaced in total across the country, according to the Lebanese government. Israel claims to be carrying out targeted strikes on what it describes as “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure.
The port is typically described as a bustling hub, but Israel’s evacuation orders this week for the city have for the first time encompassed swathes of it, including right up to its ancient castle.
Lebanese media continues to report widespread strikes by Israel across the country, with five reported dead in Bint Jbeil, near northern Israel.
During the last two hours, Israel’s military has reported four separate instances of warning sirens sounding in northern Israel.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that in the past 24 hours, according to medical sources, 74 civilians have been killed and 130 others injured in Gaza in what it describes as six separate attacks by Israeli forces.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Blinken: US is tracking ‘very, very, very carefully’ Israeli efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid in Gaza
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said his country is tracking “very, very, very carefully” efforts by Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the beseiged Palestinian territory of Gaza, accusing Israel of previously having fallen back on sustained deliveries.
In words before he left Israel for Saudi Arabia, Blinken told the media:
It’s absolutely essential that humanitarian assistance get to the people who need it in Gaza. And as you know, a couple of weeks ago defense secretary Lloyd Austin and I wrote to the Israeli defense minister, the strategic affairs minister, with a list of things that need to happen in order for assistance to get more effectively to people who need that assistance.
So we went over that in some detail yesterday, and I can report that there’s progress made, which is good, but more progress needs to be made. And most critically, it needs to be sustained.
We’ve had periods before where the Israelis have increased what they’re doing, only to see it fall back. So we’re tracking this very, very, very carefully, and we went over it in some detail.
Blinken: US believes there is greater chance of hostage release deal now Yahya Sinwar is dead
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said he believes there is a greater chance of a hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel now that the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.
Speaking in Israel ahead of visiting Saudi Arabia, Blinken told the media:
When it comes to the hostages, I met again with hostage families last night, including the families of the seven Americans who remain in Gaza. And that reinforces once again for me and for all of us the urgency, the imperative of bringing them home, bringing all of them home.
We talked about the plan that we’ve had on the table and the work that we’re doing on that plan, looking at new frameworks of foreign relations as a possibility.
We talked about the importance of determining whether Hamas is prepared to engage in moving forward, and the Egyptians, the Qataris are doing just that.
But I believe that with [Yahya] Sinwar gone, because he was the primary obstacle for realising the hostage agreement, there is a real opportunity to bring them home and to accomplish the objective.
Blinken is to head for talks in London with Arab leaders later this week, after his visit to the Middle East concludes.
It has generally been understood that the sticking points between the two sides were that Hamas wished the IDF to completely withdraw from Gaza before it would begin the release of hostages, while Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been insisting that it retain continued control of the Philadelphi corridor in southern Gaza, including the Rafah crossing. For its part, Egypt, one of the countries involved in attempting to broker a deal, has said it would not accept any change in the status of the Rafah crossing which links Gaza and Egypt.
About 100 of the 250 hostages seized and abducted during the 7 October attack are believed to still be held in captivity in Gaza more than a year after the surprise Hamas attack inside southern Israel.
Blinken: Israel’s success against Hamas has come at ‘great cost’ to Palestinian civilians
The US state department has issued a full transcript of secretary of state Antony Blinken’s earlier remarks as he departed Israel to head for Saudi Arabia, during which he said Israel’s success against Hamas had come at a “great cost” to Palestinian civilians in Gaza
During the press briefing, Blinken said:
Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza, all with the idea of making sure that 7 October could never happen again. It has managed to dismantle Hamas’s military capacity. It has destroyed much of its arsenal. It has eliminated its senior leadership, including, most recently, Yahya Sinwar.
This has come at the cost – the great cost – of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success, and there are really two things left to do: get the hostages home and bring the war to an end with an understanding of what will follow. And that’s what we’ve been working on this past day and will continue to work on throughout this trip.
Blinken has now arrived in Riyadh, where he was greeted by the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney.
