Middle East crisis live: Lebanon hit by one of the heaviest days of Israeli bombing in weeks | US-Israel war on Iran
Opening summary
Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Israel hit Lebanon with more than 120 airstrikes on Tuesday in one of the heaviest bombing days in weeksLebanese security sources say Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu He said that his army has deepened its operations in the country.
The bombing raids further strained a ceasefire declared on April 16 aimed at halting fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and came after Iran said the United States had violated a separate ceasefire by striking southern Iran.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said: 31 people died and 40 people were injured in Israeli attacks. state news agency NNA reported on Wednesday. It was stated that 14 people, including two children and three women, were killed in the Burj al-Shamali town in southern Lebanon.
In his statement on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army “It acts with great powers in the field and captures and controls areas.”
“We are strengthening the security cordon to protect the communities in the north,” he said, referring to the self-declared security zone occupied by Israeli troops a few kilometers inside southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said on Tuesday it targeted Israeli forces and tanks advancing towards the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya with explosive drones, rockets and artillery.
Here are the main developments in the Middle East conflict:
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on Monday Netanyahu in question Israel was intensifying its military operations in Lebanon. The IDF operates with “major forces in the field” to seize control of “strategic areas”.
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Meanwhile, the proposed peace deal between Iran and the United States appeared to remain on the table despite the United States bombing Iranian targets. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US attack targeting missile launchers and efforts to lay new mines in the Strait of Hormuz as an “act of bad faith” and “a clear violation of the ceasefire” and said it would not leave the attack unanswered. However, Iran did not withdraw from the ongoing talks under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. Here is our report.
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US President Donald Trump will hold a cabinet meeting The Iran war is expected to be at the top of the agenda on Wednesday. All cabinet members were expected to attend the meeting, including national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, who left her post on June 30.
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US Central Command He denied reports that the US navy had ‘quietly’ restarted the so-called ‘Freedom Project’ in the Strait of Hormuz. “US forces are not currently escorting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in a statement shared on X.
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Oil rose back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday after new U.S. strikes on Iran dashed hopes for progress.Whatever the outcome of the peace talks, the global energy market may have now passed the “point of no return”, experts say.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have killed Hamas chief of staff Mohammed Odeh in Gaza. in an airstrike 11 days after killing his predecessor. In his statement about X, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz praised the IDF and the intelligence agency Shin Bet for their “great execution.”
important events
Julian Borger
The head of the UN World Food Program said the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran is compounding other global disasters that are pushing record numbers of people into starvation at a time when funding for famine relief has fallen dramatically.
WFP says 363 million people People around the world are currently at risk of acute hunger; 45 million of these are due to conflicts in the Middle East and the resulting increase in oil prices.
Increased need comes in the background funding cut by a third last year, with the United States, by far the biggest donor, cutting its contribution by more than half.
Carl Skau, WFP’s acting director-general since former leader Cindy McCain resigned for health reasons earlier this year, said the huge gap between needs and funding had forced the organization to cut programs supporting populations in food emergencies to focus on those already facing catastrophic shortages.
“We take from the hungry and give to the starving. That’s the truth,” Skau told the Guardian. “A lot of this is due to conflict. We declared two famines last year. We haven’t had anything like this in decades, so these are historic hunger levels.”
Read more:
Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Adha, the second major holiday of Islam. Inside LebanonWar and displacement marred the celebrations as Israeli attacks continued to bring death and destruction to the besieged country.
Lebanese prime minister, Nawaf SalamHe said the holiday comes at a time when Lebanon “still endures the most difficult conditions of war, destruction and tragedies.”
“Nevertheless, Eid remains an opportunity to hold fast to hope and confidence in our ability to achieve our goal of building a strong and just state to lift up Lebanon,” he wrote to X.
Opening summary
Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Israel hit Lebanon with more than 120 airstrikes on Tuesday in one of the heaviest bombing days in weeksLebanese security sources say Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu He said that his army has deepened its operations in the country.
The bombing raids further strained a ceasefire declared on April 16 aimed at halting fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and came after Iran said the United States had violated a separate ceasefire by striking southern Iran.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said: 31 people died and 40 people were injured in Israeli attacks. state news agency NNA reported on Wednesday. It was stated that 14 people, including two children and three women, were killed in the Burj al-Shamali town in southern Lebanon.
In his statement on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army “It acts with great powers in the field and captures and controls areas.”
“We are strengthening the security cordon to protect the communities in the north,” he said, referring to the self-declared security zone occupied by Israeli troops a few kilometers inside southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said on Tuesday it targeted Israeli forces and tanks advancing towards the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya with explosive drones, rockets and artillery.
Here are the main developments in the Middle East conflict:
-
on Monday Netanyahu in question Israel was intensifying its military operations in Lebanon. The IDF operates with “major forces in the field” to seize control of “strategic areas”.
-
Meanwhile, the proposed peace deal between Iran and the United States appeared to remain on the table despite the United States bombing Iranian targets. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US attack targeting missile launchers and efforts to lay new mines in the Strait of Hormuz as an “act of bad faith” and “a clear violation of the ceasefire” and said it would not leave the attack unanswered. However, Iran did not withdraw from the ongoing talks under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. Here is our report.
-
US President Donald Trump will hold a cabinet meeting The Iran war is expected to be at the top of the agenda on Wednesday. All cabinet members were expected to attend the meeting, including national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, who left her post on June 30.
-
US Central Command He denied reports that the US navy had ‘quietly’ restarted the so-called ‘Freedom Project’ in the Strait of Hormuz. “US forces are not currently escorting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in a statement shared on X.
-
Oil rose back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday after new U.S. strikes on Iran dashed hopes for progress.Whatever the outcome of the peace talks, the global energy market may have now passed the “point of no return,” experts say.
-
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have killed Hamas chief of staff Mohammed Odeh in Gaza. in an airstrike 11 days after killing his predecessor. In his statement about X, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz praised the IDF and the intelligence agency Shin Bet for their “great execution.”
