Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila near the border on May 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it launched dozens of rockets at north Israel military positions on May 15 in retaliation for the killing of a member Israel said was a field commander.

Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire following the Palestinian group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Hezbollah fighters on May 15 attacked “the Meron base with dozens of Katyusha rockets, heavy rockets and artillery shells” as well as targeting a barrack with “heavy rockets,” the group said.

The attacks were “part of the response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the south” the previous day, it said.

Israel’s Army said sirens sounded in Meron on May 15 without providing further details.

On May 14 evening, Hezbollah said Israeli fire had killed its member Hussein Makki, who was identified as a field commander by a source close to the group.

The Israeli Army later confirmed it had launched the strike that killed Makki.

It described him as “a senior field commander” in Hezbollah responsible for planning and executing “numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and territory”.

“He previously served as the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the coastal region,” the Army added.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency had reported two people killed in an “enemy drone strike that targeted a car on the Tyre-Al-Hush main road”.

But another source close to Hezbollah later told AFP that while Makki was killed, the other person was injured.

At least 412 people have been killed in Lebanon in more than seven months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also including 79 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israel says 14 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed on its side of the border.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in areas on both sides of the border.

New Delhi:

Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday advised Indian nationals travelling to the two countries to “remain vigilant” and stay in contact with the Indian Embassy.

In response to a media query on travel advisory to Iran and Israel, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region. We have also noted that Iran and Israel have opened their airspace for several days now. We advise Indian nationals to remain vigilant while travelling to these countries and be in touch with the Indian Embassy.”

Earlier on April 14, the Indian embassy in Israel issued an advisory to Indian citizens in Israel to stay calm and adhere to the safety protocols issued by the local authorities.

The embassy further highlighted that they are closely monitoring the situation and are in touch with the Israeli authorities.

“In light of recent events in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to stay calm and adhere to the safety protocols issued by the local authorities (https://www.oref.org.il/en). Embassy is closely monitoring the situation and is in touch with the Israeli authorities and Indian community members to ensure the safety of all our nationals,” the Indian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

*IMPORTANT ADVISORY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS IN ISRAEL*

Link : https://t.co/OEsz3oUtBJpic.twitter.com/ZJJeu7hOug

— India in Israel (@indemtel) April 14, 2024

The embassy further mentioned an emergency helpline number for Indian citizens in Israel.

“For any urgent assistance, please contact the Embassy at 24*7 Emergency Helpline/ContactTel: 1. +972-547520711, +972-543278392. Email: cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in,” it stated.

Recently, two weeks ago Israel launched missile strikes against Tehran on April 19.

The missile launches come after Iran launched several drones and missiles on April 13 towards Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria, resulting in the killing of three top Iranian generals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Damascus:

Syria’s defence ministry on Friday said eight soldiers had been injured in Israeli air strikes near Damascus.

On Thursday night, “the Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a site near Damascus… injuring eight soldiers,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.

The Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the outbreak of a civil war in its northern neighbour in 2011, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters.

But the strikes increased after Israel’s war with Iran-backed Palestinian operative group Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7.

On April 19, Israeli strikes targeted a Syrian army position in the country’s south, Syria’s government and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said, as US media reported Israel had hit Iran.

Overnight on April 13, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel in an unprecedented attack that came in retaliation for a deadly strike — widely blamed on Israel — on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.

Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more since it erupted in March 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A military base in central Iraq, which was housing army troops and pro-Iranian paramilitaries, was hit with “bombing” overnight amid spiralling tensions between Israel and Iran, reports suggest. The US military has denied any role in the attack.

Here are the top 10 points on this big story:

A file photo of Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran’s foreign minister on April 19 said Tehran was investigating an overnight attack on Iran, adding that so far a link to Israel had not been proven as he downplayed the strike.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told NBC News the drones took off from inside Iran and flew for a few hundred meters before being downed.

Also read: Iran’s president makes no mention of explosions

“They’re … more like toys that our children play with, not drones,” Mr. Amirabdollahian said. “It has not been proved to us that there is a connection between these and Israel,” he said, adding that Iran was investigating the matter but that media reports were not accurate, according to Tehran’s information.

Iranian media and officials described a small number of explosions, which they said resulted from air defences hitting three drones over Isfahan in central Iran in the early hours of April 19. They referred to the incident as an attack by “infiltrators”, rather than by Israel, obviating the need for retaliation.

Mr. Amirabdollahian warned that if Israel retaliated and acted against the interests of Iran, Tehran’s next response would be immediate and at the maximum level. “But if not, then we are done. We are concluded,” he said.

The attack appeared to target an Iranian Air Force base near the city of Isfahan, deep inside the country, but without striking any strategic sites or causing major damage.

Israel has said nothing about the incident. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had not been involved in any offensive operations, while the White House said it had no comment.

Escalation of conflict

Israel had said it would retaliate after a strike on April 13, the first-ever direct attack on Israel by Iran, which caused no deaths after Israel and its allies shot down hundreds of missiles and drones.

Tehran launched those attacks in response to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 that destroyed a building in Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus and killed several Iranian officers including a top general.

Allies including the U.S. had pressed all week to ensure any further retaliation would be calibrated not to provoke more escalation, and Western countries tightened sanctions on Iran to mollify Israel.

There was no word from Israel on April 19 as to whether further action might be planned.

Apart from direct strikes on Iranian territory, it has other ways of attacking, including cyber-attacks and strikes on Iranian proxies elsewhere.

Tesnions rise in Middle East

Violence between Israel and Iranian proxies across the Middle East has intensified throughout six months of bloodshed in Gaza, raising fears the longstanding foes’ shadow war could spiral into a direct conflict.

Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Hamas Islamists attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military offensive has killed 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gazan health ministry.

Israeli air strikes pound Gaza

As night fell on April 19, Israeli planes and tanks pounded several areas across the Gaza Strip, with air strikes hitting areas of Rafah where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering, according to residents, Hamas media and officials at the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

One strike hit two apartments in a residential building in the city, killing nine people, including four children, and wounding several others, health officials said.

Air strikes also destroyed at least five houses in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, residents and Hamas media said.

“They (Israeli security) phoned some residents and ordered them to evacuate their houses before planes bombed some buildings nearby,” Abu Omar, a resident of Al-Nuseirat, told Reuters via a chat app “Soon as we ran away explosions shook the ground,” he added.

Israel’s government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Tehran:

 Iran’s foreign minister on Friday said Tehran was investigating an overnight attack on Iran, adding that so far a link to Israel had not been proven as he downplayed the strike.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told NBC News the drones took off from inside Iran and flew for a few hundred meters before being downed.

“They’re … more like toys that our children play with, not drones,” Amirabdollahian said.

“It has not been proved to us that there is a connection between these and Israel,” he said, adding that Iran was investigating the matter but that media reports were not accurate, according to Tehran’s information.

Iranian media and officials described a small number of explosions, which they said resulted from air defenses hitting three drones over Isfahan in central Iran in the early hours of Friday. They referred to the incident as an attack by “infiltrators”, rather than by Israel, obviating the need for retaliation.

Amirabdollahian warned that if Israel retaliated and acted against the interests of Iran, Tehran’s next response would be immediate and at maximum level.

“But if not, then we are done. We are concluded,” he said.

The attack appeared to target an Iranian Air Force base near the city of Isfahan, deep inside the country, but without striking any strategic sites or causing major damage.

Israel has said nothing about the incident. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had not been involved in any offensive operations, while the White House said it had no comment.

CALIBRATED RETALIATION

Israel had said it would retaliate after a strike on April 13, the first ever direct attack on Israel by Iran, which caused no deaths after Israel and its allies shot down hundreds of missiles and drones.

Tehran launched those attacks in response to a presumed Israeli airstrike on April 1 that destroyed a building in Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus and killed several Iranian officers including a top general.

Allies including the U.S. had pressed all week to ensure any further retaliation would be calibrated not to provoke more escalation, and Western countries tightened sanctions on Iran to mollify Israel.

There was no word from Israel on Friday as to whether further action might be planned. Apart from direct strikes on Iranian territory, it has other ways of attacking, including cyber attacks and strikes on Iranian proxies elsewhere.

Violence between Israel and Iranian proxies across the Middle East has intensified throughout six months of bloodshed in Gaza, raising fears the longstanding foes’ shadow war could spiral into a direct conflict.

Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Hamas Islamists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military offensive has killed 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gazan health ministry.

As night fell on Friday, Israeli planes and tanks pounded several areas across the Gaza Strip, with air strikes hitting areas of Rafah where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering, according to residents, Hamas media and officials at the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

One strike hit two apartments in a residential building in the city, killing nine people, including four children, and wounding several others, health officials said.

Air strikes also destroyed at least five houses in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, residents and Hamas media said.

“They (Israeli security) phoned some residents and ordered them to evacuate their houses before planes bombed some buildings nearby,” Abu Omar, a resident of Al-Nuseirat, told Reuters via a chat app.

“Soon as we ran away explosions shook the ground,” he added.

Israel’s government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani holds a press conference at the end of the G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Group of Seven Foreign Ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on April 19 for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of Ministers of industrialised countries, said the agenda of the three-day meeting was changed on April 19 to address the latest developments.

Iran-Israel Crisis LIVE Updates, April 19, 2024

Early Friday, Iran fired air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones. They were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country last weekend.

Mr. Tajani didn’t immediately address the incident, but said that G7 ministers condemned Iran’s weekend attack on Israel and urged both sides to exercise restraint.

“The political objective is de-escalation,” Mr. Tajani said in a closing press conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, built his political career promising security to Israel. He claimed in the past that only he could stand up to the Iranian threat. Yet, the worst attack in Israel’s history, as well as a massive missile and drone strike by Iran breaching its borders took place on his watch. After the October 7 Hamas attack, Mr. Netanyahu vowed to crush Hamas and went for an all-out war on Gaza. Six months later, the war remains unfinished. And after the April 14 attack by Iran, his government as well as the military have promised a forceful response, but the Prime Minister does not have any easy choices before him. 

Until April 14, Israel was acting freely in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, targeting Iranian assets or its proxy networks, including Hamas and Hezbollah. A shadow war has been raging between Israel and Iran for years in West Asia. Iran lost dozens of nuclear scientists and military officers in this shadow war and its response had largely been muted. This emboldened Israeli operations further in its immediate neighbourhood. Israel has carried out more than 400 air strikes against Iran-linked militias in the region. But the April 1 bombing of Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus, in which seven Revolutionary Guard officers were killed, including Gen. Mohammed Reza Zahedi, seemed to have altered Iran’s strategic thinking.

Analysis | By attacking Israel, Iran turns shadow war into direct conflict 

New equilibrium 

By launching a massive direct attack on Israel, Iran seeks to build a new strategic equilibrium. It wants to tell the Israelis that the attacks they were carrying out targeting Iranian interests would no longer be cost-free. This is dangerous gambling as any direct Israeli retaliation would prompt Iran to launch another attack, triggering a cycle of violence or an all-out war.

Israel says it managed to intercept “99%” of the Iranian projectiles. But there is a catch. Israel did not do it alone. The U.S., the U.K., France and Jordan all joined Israel in shooting down Iranian missiles and attack drones. And none of these partners want a regional war with Iran. They have all urged Israel to consider the remarkably high interception rate as a victory and stand down. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, has publicly urged Israel to show restraint. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, said Israel would decide whether, when and how it should respond to the Iranian attack and that the U.S. would not be a part of that decision. President Joe Biden told Mr. Netanyahu that the U.S. would not participate in any Israeli counterattack on Iran, according to the White House.

Bibi’s dilemma 

This leaves Mr. Netanyahu in a dilemma. He always wanted to act tough on Iran, but without America’s support, it would be risky to go to war with Iran. Also, despite Israel’s multi-layered defence system, Iranian ballistic missiles still hit an Israeli base and in the event of a full-scale war, both sides can wreak havoc on each other. Mr. Netanyahu also cannot back off. The Iranian attack breached Israel’s sovereignty, though the damage it caused was little. For a country with existential anxiety and whose strategic doctrine is rooted in deterrence and escalation dominance, not responding to a direct attack on its territory would have far-reaching consequences. Iran is also seeking to change the status quo. If Israel does not retaliate and looks weak, an emboldened Iran will pose more challenges to Israel’s future operations in Lebanon and Syria.

Timeline: Iran and Israel’s open warfare after decades of shadow war

So the challenge before Mr. Netanyahu, who is ‘King Bibi’ for his supporters, is to retaliate without escalating. Israeli media have reported that Mr. Netanyahu’s War Cabinet has agreed to respond to Iran’s attack but the time and the scale of the attack is to be decided. According to NBC, Biden administration officials believe Mr. Netanyahu would not hit Iran directly. Instead, he would target Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. But Israel is already attacking Iranian proxies and how would another round of attack in Syria and Lebanon help Israel boost its deterrence against Iran?  

The ball is in Mr. Netanyahu’s court. He has to make one of the several bad choices. He cannot afford to look weak; he cannot completely ignore his allies who are asking him to exercise restraint and he cannot fight a regional war without his allies.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 17 his country will decide how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack as world leaders called for restraint to avoid escalation.

The Israeli military has vowed to respond to Iran’s missile and drone weekend attack, prompting a diplomatic flurry aiming to calm a region already on the edge due to the Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza since October 7.

Washington and Brussels have pledged to ramp up sanctions against Iran, while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock became the first Western envoys to visit Israel after the attack.

Mr. Netanyahu told the visiting ministers that Israel “will reserve the right to protect itself,” his office said.

The pair offered “all kinds of suggestions and advice” during a meeting, Mr. Netanyahu said. “However, I would also like to clarify: we will make our decisions ourselves.”

For his part, Mr. Cameron said that “we are very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel: It’s a time to think with head as well as heart.”

Ms. Baerbock emphasised that “the region must not slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable.”

Tehran has vowed to hit back if its arch-foe Israel responds to the Saturday attack, which itself was launched in retaliation to a deadly strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate building earlier this month.

Iran military parade

As Iran marked its annual Army Day, it showed off a range of its weapons on Wednesday, including attack drones and longer-range ballistic missiles, in a military parade in Tehran.

President Ebrahim Raisi has warned after the attack that “the slightest act of aggression” by Israel would lead to “a fierce and severe response”.

In the large-scale assault late on Saturday, Iran and allied groups launched over 300 missiles and drones carrying a combined payload of 85 tonnes at Israel, according to the Israeli Army.

Damage and casualties were limited as Israel’s air defences intercepted most of them with the help of U.S., British, French and Jordanian forces.

Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi has vowed “a response” to Iran’s first ever direct attack, while military spokesman Daniel Hagari stressed that Iran would not get off “scot-free”.

It remained unclear how and when Israel might strike, and whether it would target Iran directly or attack its interests or allies abroad in places such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group and Israeli forces have been exchanging near daily cross-border fire with Israel since the Gaza war began.

Hezbollah said it launched drones and missiles into Israel on Wednesday, which the army said wounded 14 soldiers, six of whom seriously.

U.S., E.U. to toughen sanctions

Israel’s top ally the United States has made clear it won’t join any attack on Iran, vowing instead to level more sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone programme, its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian Defence Ministry.

E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Brussels was also working to expand sanctions against Iran, including its supply of drones and other weapons to Russia and to proxy groups around the Middle East.

Germany’s Ms. Baerbock said that Berlin and Paris were in favour of a European sanctions regime against Iranian drones to be extended to include “missile technologies in Iran’s arsenal”.

Mr. Cameron also urged the G7 to adopt new “coordinated sanctions against Iran,” ahead of a meeting with counterparts from the Western-led grouping in Italy.

Deadly strikes in Gaza

The sharply heightened Israel-Iran tensions have threatened to overshadow the Gaza war, even as deadly bombardment and combat raged on unabated in the besieged territory.

Talks toward a truce and hostage release deal have stalled for now, said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator, despite months of effort also involving U.S. and Egyptian officials.

The Israeli military said Wednesday its aircraft had “struck over 40 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” over the past day.

When one strike hit the southernmost city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, Jamalat Ramidan said she “woke up to the sounds of girls shouting ‘mama, mama, mama’.”

As she fled the carnage alongside children, they stumbled over “body parts and corpses scattered all over the place,” Ramidan told AFP.

Vast areas of Gaza have been devastated by more than six months of war, while its 2.4 million people have suffered under an Israeli siege that has blocked most water, food, medicines and other vital supplies.

The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

The militants also took about 250 hostages, of whom Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.

Israel’s devastating retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,899 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Israel rejects famine claims

Israel has faced growing global opposition to the relentless fighting in Gaza, which the United Nations and aid agencies have warned has pushed the north of the territory to the brink of famine.

But Mr. Netanyahu rejected any claims about famine on Wednesday, saying Israel is doing “above and beyond” what is needed “on the humanitarian issue,” his office said.

The UN said it would launch an appeal on Wednesday for $2.8 billion to help Palestinians in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.

The bloodiest ever Gaza war has also revived the push for Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

The UN Security Council was preparing to vote Thursday on an Algeria-drafted resolution for full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, diplomatic sources said.

However the veto-wielding United States has repeatedly expressed opposition to the move.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at his office.
| Photo Credit: PTI

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint and let “calm heads” prevail in the wake of Iran’s missile attacks as his Foreign Secretary David Cameron landed in Tel Aviv for talks on Wednesday.

In a phone call, Mr. Sunak reiterated the U.K.’s “steadfast support” for regional stability and told the Israeli leader that Iran had miscalculated its move, being isolated on the global stage as a result.

Mr. Netanyahu is said to have thanked Britain for its “rapid and robust” support in the face of Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel on Saturday.

“The Prime Minister [Sunak] said Iran had badly miscalculated and was increasingly isolated on the global stage, with the G7 coordinating a diplomatic response,” Downing Street said in a readout of the call on Tuesday evening.

“He stressed that significant escalation was in no one’s interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East. This was a moment for calm heads to prevail,” the statement said.

On the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, Mr. Sunak told Mr. Netanyahu that he remained gravely concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis.

“The U.K. wanted to see a massive step change in aid access to flood Gaza with vital supplies, including Israel opening up new aid routes as quickly as possible. The Prime Minister said it was deeply disappointing that Hamas blocked a deal at the weekend that would have saved Palestinian lives and secured the safe release of hostages,” Downing Street added.

The call will form the backdrop for Mr. Cameron’s discussions in Israel, where he is expected to meet Mr. Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials and attempt to talk the country out of retaliating to Iran’s assault.

The visit will include meetings in the occupied West Bank, after which Mr. Cameron will travel to a gathering of Group of Seven (G7) ministers in Italy to discuss further sanctions on Iran.

The U.K. has condemned Iran’s “reckless and dangerous escalation” in the region and called on all sides to show restraint after Tehran’s “barrage of 300 missiles and drones” targeted Israel over the weekend.

India has called for an “immediate de-escalation” of hostilities between Iran and Israel and called for a “return to the path of diplomacy”. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held phone calls with his counterparts in Iran and Israel, following which Indian officials are expected to be allowed access to its crew on a ship with Israeli links seized by Iranian troops.