It is “clear the Israelis are making a decision to act” in response to Iran’s unprecedented direct attack, David Cameron has said, as the foreign secretary landed in Israel for talks with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough,” Britain’s foreign secretary told reporters.
The UK wants “to see coordinated sanctions against Iran”, Lord Cameron said, ahead of an upcoming meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy, adding: “They need to be given a clear and unequivocal message by the G7 and I hope that will happen at the weekend.”
United States Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has already said she expects Washington will hit Tehran with new sanctions in a matter of days, in a bid to reduce Tehran’s capacity to export oil and ability to finance its proxies throughout the Middle East.
Iran launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on 1 April attributed to Israel, but signalled that it did not seek further escalation.
Watch: Israel ‘making decision to act’ after Iranian attack, says Cameron
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 12:51
UN issues appeal for $2.8bn to ease food shortages facing Palestinians
The United Nations has appealed for $2.8bn in funding to assist the populations of Gaza and the occupied West Bank until the end of the year, to help ease food shortages and prevent looming famine in Gaza.
A flash appeal published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that sum was needed to help 3.1 million people and “reduce human suffering and prevent further loss of life.”
A major chunk of funding – $782.1m – will be destined for food aid for 2.2 million people in Gaza and 400,000 people in the West Bank, the appeal said.
A senior UN aid official said on Tuesday that they were struggling to prevent famine in the Gaza Strip and while there had been some improvement in coordination with Israel, aid deliveries in the enclave still faced obstacles.
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 12:40
Assassinations, espionage and heists: How Israel has previously hit out at Iran
On the afternoon of 27 November 2020, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh – regarded as the father of Iran’s nuclear programme – was travelling with his wife from Tehran to the resort city of Absard, accompanied by a security escort, when they were fatally ambushed.
Gunfire tore through the black Nissan Teana saloon as it crossed the Imam Khomeini Boulevard, hitting Fakhrizadeh, who was driving, in the shoulder and chest. He crawled out of the car to try to stop his wife from being hit, and was shot again. He died at the roadside.
The killing was carried out, according to varying accounts, either by a team of gunmen who had followed the convoy, or by a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on a truck, its trigger pulled a thousand miles away.
Mossad was blamed by Iran for the assassination of Fakhrizadeh – an accusation that Israel did not deny. Five other Iranian nuclear scientists had been killed in the previous 14 years, as well as the general in charge of missile development and 16 officers under his command.
As Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans its response to the mass drone and missile attack launched by Iran at the weekend, among the options reportedly under consideration are covert operations inside Iran, and asymmetric campaigns such as sustained cyberattacks alongside conventional military assaults against Tehran’s proxy forces in the region.
Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports:
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 12:29
Hamas leader to visit Turkey for talks with Erdogan
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will visit Turkey at the weekend to hold talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, broadcaster NTV has reported.
“I will host the leader of the Palestinian cause at the weekend. We will discuss a number of issues,” Mr Erdogan earlier told colleagues from his AK Party in parliament, once again calling Hamas a “liberation movement”.
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 12:06
UK needs to advance defence systems after Iran attack, says former defence minister
There is “nothing protecting London in the same way that the Iron Dome operates over Israel”, Mr Ellwood told Sky News, adding: “We need to start thinking of how to protect ourselves as our character of war starts to change.”
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 11:50
Ceasefire negotiations at ‘delicate phase’, says Qatar’s PM
Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has warned that talks on a Gaza ceasefire and a release of Israeli hostages are at a “delicate phase”.
“We are trying as much as possible to address this stumbling block,” he added, without giving further details.
Qatar’s premier condemned what he described as the policy of “collective punishment” still followed by Israel in its war against Hamas and the latest escalation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 11:32
Gaza’s IVF embryos destroyed by Israeli strike
When an Israeli shell struck Gaza’s largest fertility clinic in December, the explosion blasted the lids off five liquid nitrogen tanks stored in a corner of the embryology unit.
As the ultra-cold liquid evaporated, the temperature inside the tanks rose, destroying more than 4,000 embryos plus 1,000 more specimens of sperm and unfertilized eggs stored at Gaza City’s Al Basma IVF centre.
The embryos in those tanks were the last hope for hundreds of Palestinian couples facing infertility.
“We know deeply what these 5,000 lives, or potential lives, meant for the parents, either for the future or for the past,” said Bahaeldeen Ghalayini, 73, the Cambridge-trained obstetrician and gynaecologist who established the clinic in 1997.
At least half of the couples – those who can no longer produce sperm or eggs to make viable embryos – will not have another chance to get pregnant, he said, adding. “My heart is divided into a million pieces.”
Reuters17 April 2024 11:16
Watch: Israel ‘might not be so lucky’ if Iran attack again, military analyst claims
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 11:07
Kremlin silent on whether Iran informed Russia of Israel strikes in advance
Russia is in dialogue with both Iran and Israel and urged the need for de-escalation in the Middle East, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.
Mr Peskov said that Russia continues to have close contacts with Iran and also has constructive contacts with Israel.
When asked if Tehran had warned Russia ahead of time about the strikes on Israel, Mr Peskov said he had nothing to say on the matter.
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 10:58
Iran warns it is ready to respond to any Israeli attack
Iran has warned its military is ready to confront any attack by Israel.
Tehran’s air force said it was “prepared for any operation”, while Iran’s navy commander said also that it was escorting Iranian commercial vessels to the Red Sea.
“Any attack by the Zionist regime on our soil will be dealt with a severe response,” Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was reported by state media as saying at a parade held for Iran’s Army Day. Mr Raisi reportedly warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
The commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force warned at the same event that its warplanes, including Russian-made Sukhoi-24s, were in their “best state of preparedness” to counter any Israeli attack.
“We have full readiness in all fields, including our air coverage and bombers, and are prepared for any operation,” Brigadier General Amir Vahedi said.
Andy Gregory17 April 2024 10:41