Iran strikes back
Live Reporting
Israel confirms Iran has fired missiles and it warns residents to shelter in place
The Israeli military said Tuesday that Iran has fired missiles and it ordered residents to remain close to bomb shelters as air raid sirens sounded across the country.
Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences in the event of an attack on Israel from Iran, which backs the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The orders to shelter in place were sent to Israelis’ mobile phones and announced on national television.
Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defense system was fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats. “However, the defense is not hermetic,” he said.
Biden says US prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iran attacks
US President Joe Biden has said the United States is prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks and to protect the American military in the region, Reuters reports.
“We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region,” Biden said on X about a meeting held with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House national security team earlier in the day.
4 killed in shooting attack in Israel’s Jaffa: Israeli police
Four people were killed and seven wounded in a shooting attack in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, Israeli police said in a statement, Reuters reports.
They said two shooters were “neutralised” and that the families of the victims had been notified.
Explosions heard over Jerusalem: AFP journalists
Dozens of explosions have boomed across Jerusalem as air raid sirens rang out, AFP journalists have reported.
The explosions came shortly after the military said that Iran had launched a missile attack targeting Israel.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 1, 2024
Israel says missiles launched from Iran as Israelis run for their lives
The Israeli military has said that missiles had been launched from Iran at Israel, Reuters reports.
Alarms sounded across the country and Israelis rushed for shelter. Reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts.
Earlier, the military had announced that any ballistic missile strike from Iran was expected to be widespread and told the public to shelter in safe rooms in the event of an attack.
Iran has vowed to retaliate following attacks that killed the top leadership of its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.
The firing of missiles came after Israeli troops launched ground raids into Lebanon, in the biggest escalation of regional warfare since fighting erupted in Gaza a year ago.
UK’s Lammy says Israel must avoid getting ‘bogged down’ in Lebanon
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that nobody wants a return to the past with Israel fighting in southern Lebanon over a long period, adding the price of a regional Middle Eastern war would be “huge”, Al Jazeera reports.
“None of us want to return to the years in which Israel found itself bogged down in a quagmire in southern Lebanon,” Lammy told broadcasters.
Lebanon army source says force has observed no Israeli ground incursion
A Lebanese army source said Tuesday that the force had seen no Israeli ground incursion, after Israel said it had launched ground raids in south Lebanon, AFP reports.
“We have not observed any penetration by Israeli enemy forces into Lebanese territory,” the Lebanese army source told AFP, requesting anonymity, after United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah also denied any ground incursion had begun.
UN warns against ‘large-scale ground invasion’ in Lebanon
The United Nations warned Israel against a “large-scale ground invasion” of Lebanon, after the Israeli military began a ground assault, AFP reports.
“With armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over, the consequences for civilians have already been terrible,” Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.
“We fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering,” she warned.
UN trying to throw a lifeline to Lebanon
Lebanon’s prime minister and the UN humanitarian agency say they’re launching an appeal for more than $400m to meet the emergency needs of civilians affected by the escalating conflict.
“Prime Minister Najib Mikati and humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza today launched a $426m flash appeal to mobilise urgent resources for civilians affected by the escalating conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis in Lebanon,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.
Swiss Air pulls out of Tel Aviv, Beirut
Swiss Air says it has extended its suspension of flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv.
Following the example of its parent company, German airline group Lufthansa, Swiss Air said it would suspend flights to and from Beirut through November 30 and to and from Tel Aviv through October 31.
This move “is intended to provide more predictability for both our passengers and our crews”, it said.
Houthis step up the fight
Yemen’s Houthi movement has taken the fight to Israeli army bases in Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree says in a televised speech.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the situation remains on a knife's edge. On Sunday, Israel struck back at Yemen’s Hodeidah city after the Houthis said they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport with a missile.
The Houthis have repeatedly fired at Israel and have carried out numerous attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since November in what they describe as a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza, ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli government.
Lebanon in the crosshairs
Israel has poured fuel on the fire by launching more air strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, bombing several neighbourhoods after ordering residents to flee.
Attacks on Lebanon have claimed the lives of at least 95 people on Monday, the country’s Health Ministry has claimed.
Israel takes the gloves off
Israeli soldiers have entered Lebanon after the army announced a “limited” ground operation against Hezbollah.
French top diplomat urges Israel against Lebanon ground offensive
BEIRUT (Lebanon) (AFP) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday urged Israel not to send ground troops into Lebanon, calling on Israel and armed group Hezbollah to immediately agree to a ceasefire.
"I urge Israel to refrain from any ground incursion and to cease fire. I call on Hezbollah to do the same and refrain from any action that could destabilise the region," Barrot told reporters in Beirut.
Gaza children 'extremely impacted' by war: UNICEF
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Nearly a year of devastating war has left Gaza's 2.4 million people enduring a humanitarian tragedy, with children in the besieged territory the most vulnerable, a UNICEF official told AFP in an interview.
Jonathan Crickx, the UN agency's spokesman for the Palestinian territories, has returned this month from a week-long mission to Gaza, still heavily impacted even as Israel shifts its military focus to Lebanon.
World 'safer' without Hezbollah chief Nasrallah, says Blinken
WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday (Sep 30) that the world is safer after Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, describing the Hezbollah chief as a "brutal terrorist" while insisting diplomacy was the Middle East's best chance at stability.
"The region, the world are safer without him," Blinken, speaking in Washington, said of the deceased leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.
Biden urged Lebanon truce, US official says Israeli incursion could be imminent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Joe Biden called for a ceasefire in Lebanon on Monday (Sep 30) but a US official said Israeli troop deployments suggested a ground incursion against Hezbollah militants could be imminent.
Asked about reports that Israeli ground troops were preparing to move into southern Lebanon, Biden told reporters that he was "comfortable with them (Israel) stopping".
Israel begins ground raids against Hezbollah targets in border area of southern Lebanon
TEL AVIV (Agencies) - Israel's military said on Tuesday (Oct 1) that it had started "limited, localised and targeted raids" against Hezbollah targets in the border area of Southern Lebanon.
The targets are located in villages close to the border and "pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel", said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in a statement.
