Latest news with #IsraeliAirstrikes
Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least one killed as Israeli strikes pummel southern Lebanon
At least one person has been killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in Israeli air attacks on southern Lebanon, the health ministry has said, as the Israeli military said it struck sites linked to the armed group Hezbollah. In a report on Friday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency cited the country's health ministry saying that a woman and 13 other people were targeted in an air raid that hit a residential apartment building in Nabatieh. Seven others were wounded in air raids on the outskirts of the city, it added. The Israeli army said its fighters attacked an underground site used by Hezbollah for its fire and defence system in Belfort, a site in the Nabatieh governorate. The military said it identified attempts by the Lebanese group to resume activities there after Israel had taken it out of use in the past. The resumption of activities there would have been in breach of the November truce agreed by the two sides, which halted more than a year of fire exchanges and nearly two months of an all-out war. Later on Friday, the Israeli army spokesman said that Lebanese reports that an Israeli drone hit a residential building, causing civilian injuries, 'were inaccurate'. In a post on X, Avichay Adraee said that 'the explosion that damaged the civilian building was caused by a rocket located at the Hezbollah site, which detonated as a result of the Israeli strike'. He accused Hezbollah of 'continuing to store its aggressive rockets near residential buildings and Lebanese civilians, thereby putting them at risk'. Footage shared on social media, and verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency, shows large plumes rising from the hill where Israeli aircraft struck their target, as the roar of jets is heard overhead. سلسلة غارات تستهدف النبطية الفوقا#الجنوب_اللبناني — (@Fatimash28) June 27, 2025 Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun on Friday accused Israel of continually violating the US-brokered ceasefire deal by keeping up strikes on Lebanon. The ceasefire deal stipulates that southern Lebanon must be free of any non-state arms or fighters, Israeli soldiers must leave southern Lebanon as Lebanese troops deploy there and all fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border must stop. Israeli troops remain in at least five posts within Lebanese territory and its air force regularly launches air raids, which it claims target rank and file Hezbollah members or people affiliated with the group.
LBCI
14 hours ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israeli army denies targeting civilian building in South Lebanon
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed on Friday that reports from Lebanon about civilian injuries following Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon were inaccurate, asserting that the Israeli military did not target any residential building. In a post on X, Adraee explained that 'based on the information available to us, the explosion that damaged the civilian building was caused by a rocket located at the Hezbollah site, which detonated as a result of the Israeli strike.' He accused Hezbollah of 'continuing to store its aggressive rockets near residential buildings and Lebanese civilians, thereby putting them at risk' and reiterated claims that the group is endangering southern Lebanon by refusing to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state. Adraee added that the 'Israeli army will continue to operate to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel' and held the Lebanese government responsible for 'what happens on its territory due to its failure to confiscate Hezbollah's heavy weapons and rockets.' #عاجل 🔸بعد الغارات التي شنها جيش الدفاع صباح اليوم في جنوب لبنان على موقع لحزب الله استخدم لادارة النيران والحماية وردت تقارير لبنانية عن اصابة مبنى مدني ووقوع اصابات. 🔸أود التوضيح ان جيش الدفاع لم يستهدف اي مبنى مدني حيث وبناء على المعلومات الموجودة بحوزتنا فان الحديث عن تعرض… — افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 27, 2025
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Iranian Kurdish dissidents abroad watch for signs of Tehran vulnerability after war with Israel
From abroad, Iranian Kurdish dissident groups have been watching closely for signs that Iran's theocracy could falter in its grip on the country, battered by Israeli airstrikes in the intense, 12-day war until a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted the fighting. Israel launched the strikes on June 13, drawing Iranian missiles that targeted Israel. But it was not until the United States inserted itself into the war and hit Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday, including with 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, that the war came to a watershed moment. Now, with the fragile ceasefire holding and many Iranians trying to return to a normal life, questions swirl about whether and how much the war has weakened Iran's clerical rule, in place since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian Kurdish exiles in Iraq mull their options A handful of Iranian Kurdish groups — many with a distinctly militant past — have long found a safe haven in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, but their presence has been a point of friction between the central government in Baghdad and Tehran. Iraq in 2023 reached an agreement with Iran to disarm the groups and move them from their bases near the border areas with Iran — where they potentially posed an armed challenge to Tehran — into camps designated by Baghdad. Their armed bases were shut down and their movement within Iraq restricted, but the groups have not entirely given up their weapons. Officials with two prominent Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq told The Associated Press they are trying to organize politically to ensure that they would not be sidelined should the administration in Iran lose its hold on power. When asked if their groups were preparing an armed uprising, they either denied it or avoided a direct response. Mixed expectations of any real change in Tehran President Donald Trump floated the idea of 'regime change' in Tehran in the wake of the U.S. strikes, only to have his administration later say that was not the goal. Some of the Kurdish dissidents say they expect no immediate upheaval in Iran's ruling theocracy. 'Some of the parties think this war between Iran and Israel is a good opportunity for us' to advance the Kurdish cause, said Khalil Naderi, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, a separatist Iranian Kurdish group based in Iraq. But Naderi disagreed with that premise. "The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran to protect themselves from its weapons, not for Kurdish rights,' he said. Any premature armed mobilization on their part could endanger both the Kurdish groups and the fragile security of the Kurdish areas, both in Iraq and across the border in Iran, Naderi said. His stand was a contrast to that of PAK leader Hussein Yazdanpanah, who days after the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war, called on X for Kurdish youth to rise against the authorities in Tehran. 'Attack the enemy, its centers, and its facilities' and 'avenge the blood" of their fallen, Yazdanpanah posted. And last week in Washington, where he had been pushing U.S. officials to include the Kurds in plans for a potential 'day after' in Iran, Abdullah Mohtadi, the head of the leftist Komala Party from Iran's Kurdish regions, said he hopes the Israel-Iran war could represent a turning point. 'War can bring about internal domestic change," he said. "We hope that this time this will be the case.' Lessons from war Mohtadi denied that any external player, including the U.S. and Israel, had encouraged Kurdish groups to take up arms. But he didn't rule out the possibility that they would. 'We haven't at the moment called for an uprising, or we haven't called for an armed struggle, but we are monitoring developments very closely,' he said. Mohtadi maintained that Komala has avoided an armed struggle for nearly 30 years and that its camps in northern Iraq are purely for 'self defense.' Both Komala and the PAK, as well as another exiled Kurdish group, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan or KDPI, have fought Iranian authorities in the past — but also sometimes fought against each other. The groups have different approaches to the question of Kurdish separatism. PAK advocates for an independent Kurdish state, while Komala and KDPI want a system in Iran similar to that in northern Iraq, where Iraqi Kurds have a semiautonomous and self-governed region. Iran has occasionally launched strikes on the Iranian Kurdish dissidents, but none during the Israel-Iran war this month. Divisions among the groups The dissident groups are walking a fine line, balancing the differences among themselves and with their hosts in Iraq, the Iraqi Kurds and the Iraqi government in Baghdad — neither of which they want to antagonize. Despite having shared grievances over the marginalization of Kurds in Iran, the Iranian Kurdish parties have not been able to build a consensus "We haven't been able to unite, even though we would like to,' Naderi said. In March, ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, the Kurdish dissident groups had planned to 'meet and discuss" Kurdish rights and destiny, but plans fell through. Even now, he said, coordination remains elusive. Kawsar Fattahi, a central committee member of Komala, said the dissidents should not plan for 'the fall of the regime, but on what will happen after that.' 'Because our goal is to rebuild a new Iran,' she said. Mohtadi, the Komala leader, said he has tried to reassure Washington that his group is not separatist but wants a 'democratic, secular federal Iran where the rights of Kurds and other ethnic groups are protected by the new constitution.' He denied anyone is pushing Komala into armed conflict. 'We aren't puppets,' Mohtadi said. 'Nobody has asked us to rise (up). We will decide when is the right time.' ___ Knickmeyer reported from Washington.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Feels like heaven': Iranians return to Tehran, uncertain of future
Tehran, Iran – The highways leading into Tehran are busy again, filled with cars carrying families, suitcases, and the cautious hope that home might finally be safe. After 12 days of war that killed more than 600 Iranians and displaced hundreds of thousands from the capital, a ceasefire announced on Monday has begun drawing residents back to a city still scarred by Israeli air strikes. For many returning to Tehran, the relief of sleeping in their own beds is tempered by the constant fear that the bombing could resume at any moment. 'Coming back home after all these days, even from a place where you had physical safety, feels like heaven,' said Nika, a 33-year-old graphic designer who spent nearly two weeks sheltering with her husband at their relatives' home in Zanjan, some 286 kilometres (177 miles) northwest of the capital. 'But I don't know if the ceasefire will last or not,' she said. The conflict that upended millions of lives began at dawn on June 13, when Israeli warplanes launched what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. What followed was an unprecedented exchange of fire between the two regional powers that brought direct warfare to the heart of Tehran for the first time in decades. As Israeli attacks on residential areas intensified and warnings from American and Israeli officials to evacuate Tehran grew louder, many residents, fearing for their lives, were forced to flee the capital for the relative safety of other cities and villages. For many of Tehran's inhabitants, abandoning their lives was a soul-crushing decision. 'I had an incredibly busy life before the war,' said Saba, a 26-year-old university student. 'I lived in Tehran, had a full-time job, was studying, and since I lived alone, I managed all my household chores. When the war started, for a few days, I couldn't believe this routine was coming to a halt. I still went to work, went out for shopping or to a cafe. But at some point, you couldn't deny reality anymore. Life was stopping.' By the fifth day, the war forced her to leave. 'First, my university exams were postponed, then my workplace told us to work remotely, and one by one, all my friends left Tehran. I felt a terrible loneliness,' she recalled. 'I kept myself busy during the day, but at night, when the sounds of bombing and air defences began, I couldn't fool myself any longer.' Unable to secure a car, her father drove from her hometown of Quchan, a city near Mashhad in northeastern Iran, to bring her to the family's house, where she stayed until the to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 610 people were killed and 1,481 wounded during the conflict, with more than 90 percent of the casualties being civilians. 'Initially, I had decided to stay in Tehran and keep the company running,' said Kamran, a businessman and CEO of a private firm in the capital, who requested anonymity due to security concerns. 'There was bombing and the sound of air defence, but life was manageable during the day. The nights, however, were truly unbearable,' said the father of two. Many fled the city in the very first days of the war. At that time, two major obstacles plagued their departure: long queues at petrol stations made it difficult to secure enough fuel for the journey, and the main exit routes from the city were choked with heavy traffic from the sheer volume of cars trying to get out. Now, since the ceasefire was declared, many who had abandoned Tehran have begun to make their way back. 'After 11 days of living in a place where there was no sign of war, but wasn't home – no privacy, no peace of mind – coming back to my own house felt like heaven,' explained Nika. 'After years of being accustomed to the silence of my own home, enduring life with 11 other people in an environment that was never quiet was incredibly difficult,' she said. She returned to her two-bedroom flat in Tehran as soon as the ceasefire was declared. 'I don't know if the ceasefire will last or not,' Nika admitted. 'But even if it doesn't, I don't think I want to leave my home again.'Not everyone was lucky enough to return to an intact home. Keyvan Saket, a renowned Iranian musician, had learned of his home being hit by an Israeli missile while sheltering with his family in a nearby town. Yet, his neighbour's call delivering the grim news did not keep him from rushing back after the ceasefire was declared. According to Saket, one of the bombs fired at his residence failed to detonate, a stroke of fortune that spared further destruction. But it barred him and his family from entering their home due to safety concerns. 'Once the issue was resolved and we were allowed inside, we faced an unsettling scene,' he said. 'The doors and windows were shattered, the building's facade was obliterated, and household appliances like the washing machine and refrigerator were severely damaged. The attack was so intense that even the iron doors of the building were mangled.' Saket's voice carried a deep sorrow as he reflected on the toll of the conflict. 'With every fibre of my being, I despise war and those who ignite it,' he said, lamenting the loss of a home he cherished. 'War is the ugliest of human creations.' Since the ceasefire took effect, both sides have accused each other of violations, and fear of renewed violence has been high. Iran has reported continued Israeli attacks for several hours after the agreement, while Israel claims to have intercepted Iranian missiles post-ceasefire. In the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire announcement, strikes continued on both sides, with Israeli forces hitting targets in Tehran, including the notorious Evin Prison, and Iranian missiles striking areas in Israel. Hamed, a political science student, believes the situation is precarious. 'This feels like a recurring nightmare to me,' he said. He had returned from the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, where he was displaced to, on the day the ceasefire was announced, but was worried he might have to abandon his home and life all over again. 'I really don't want to have to pack my things and leave my home without knowing when, or if, I can come back.' Despite this underlying anxiety, the streets of Tehran are visibly busier than before the ceasefire. As companies end their remote work policies and recall employees, there is evidence of a cautious, determined return to life in the capital. Infrastructure damage across Tehran was significant, with attacks striking multiple provinces, including Alborz, East Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Fars, Kermanshah, and the capital itself. The Israeli military claimed to have struck more than 100 targets across Iran during the 12-day conflict. In the early mornings, the hum of traffic weaves through Tehran's wide boulevards once more. 'Seeing others return to the city alongside me, watching cafes and restaurants reopen, and feeling life flow back into the streets – it truly lifts my heart,' said Saba, her eyes bright with cautious optimism. Yet, as the city stirs back to life, the shadow of an uncertain ceasefire looms, a quiet reminder that this fragile revival could be tested at any moment. This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Feels like heaven': Iranians return to Tehran, uncertain of future
Tehran, Iran – The highways leading into Tehran are busy again, filled with cars carrying families, suitcases, and the cautious hope that home might finally be safe. After 12 days of war that killed more than 600 Iranians and displaced hundreds of thousands from the capital, a ceasefire announced on Monday has begun drawing residents back to a city still scarred by Israeli air strikes. For many returning to Tehran, the relief of sleeping in their own beds is tempered by the constant fear that the bombing could resume at any moment. 'Coming back home after all these days, even from a place where you had physical safety, feels like heaven,' said Nika, a 33-year-old graphic designer who spent nearly two weeks sheltering with her husband at their relatives' home in Zanjan, some 286 kilometres (177 miles) northwest of the capital. 'But I don't know if the ceasefire will last or not,' she said. The conflict that upended millions of lives began at dawn on June 13, when Israeli warplanes launched what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. What followed was an unprecedented exchange of fire between the two regional powers that brought direct warfare to the heart of Tehran for the first time in decades. As Israeli attacks on residential areas intensified and warnings from American and Israeli officials to evacuate Tehran grew louder, many residents, fearing for their lives, were forced to flee the capital for the relative safety of other cities and villages. For many of Tehran's inhabitants, abandoning their lives was a soul-crushing decision. 'I had an incredibly busy life before the war,' said Saba, a 26-year-old university student. 'I lived in Tehran, had a full-time job, was studying, and since I lived alone, I managed all my household chores. When the war started, for a few days, I couldn't believe this routine was coming to a halt. I still went to work, went out for shopping or to a cafe. But at some point, you couldn't deny reality anymore. Life was stopping.' By the fifth day, the war forced her to leave. 'First, my university exams were postponed, then my workplace told us to work remotely, and one by one, all my friends left Tehran. I felt a terrible loneliness,' she recalled. 'I kept myself busy during the day, but at night, when the sounds of bombing and air defences began, I couldn't fool myself any longer.' Unable to secure a car, her father drove from her hometown of Quchan, a city near Mashhad in northeastern Iran, to bring her to the family's house, where she stayed until the ceasefire. 'The nights were unbearable' According to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 610 people were killed and 1,481 wounded during the conflict, with more than 90 percent of the casualties being civilians. 'Initially, I had decided to stay in Tehran and keep the company running,' said Kamran, a businessman and CEO of a private firm in the capital, who requested anonymity due to security concerns. 'There was bombing and the sound of air defence, but life was manageable during the day. The nights, however, were truly unbearable,' said the father of two. Many fled the city in the very first days of the war. At that time, two major obstacles plagued their departure: long queues at petrol stations made it difficult to secure enough fuel for the journey, and the main exit routes from the city were choked with heavy traffic from the sheer volume of cars trying to get out. Now, since the ceasefire was declared, many who had abandoned Tehran have begun to make their way back. 'After 11 days of living in a place where there was no sign of war, but wasn't home – no privacy, no peace of mind – coming back to my own house felt like heaven,' explained Nika. 'After years of being accustomed to the silence of my own home, enduring life with 11 other people in an environment that was never quiet was incredibly difficult,' she said. She returned to her two-bedroom flat in Tehran as soon as the ceasefire was declared. 'I don't know if the ceasefire will last or not,' Nika admitted. 'But even if it doesn't, I don't think I want to leave my home again.' Uncertain future Not everyone was lucky enough to return to an intact home. Keyvan Saket, a renowned Iranian musician, had learned of his home being hit by an Israeli missile while sheltering with his family in a nearby town. Yet, his neighbour's call delivering the grim news did not keep him from rushing back after the ceasefire was declared. According to Saket, one of the bombs fired at his residence failed to detonate, a stroke of fortune that spared further destruction. But it barred him and his family from entering their home due to safety concerns. 'Once the issue was resolved and we were allowed inside, we faced an unsettling scene,' he said. 'The doors and windows were shattered, the building's facade was obliterated, and household appliances like the washing machine and refrigerator were severely damaged. The attack was so intense that even the iron doors of the building were mangled.' Saket's voice carried a deep sorrow as he reflected on the toll of the conflict. 'With every fibre of my being, I despise war and those who ignite it,' he said, lamenting the loss of a home he cherished. 'War is the ugliest of human creations.' Since the ceasefire took effect, both sides have accused each other of violations, and fear of renewed violence has been high. Iran has reported continued Israeli attacks for several hours after the agreement, while Israel claims to have intercepted Iranian missiles post-ceasefire. In the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire announcement, strikes continued on both sides, with Israeli forces hitting targets in Tehran, including the notorious Evin Prison, and Iranian missiles striking areas in Israel. Hamed, a political science student, believes the situation is precarious. 'This feels like a recurring nightmare to me,' he said. He had returned from the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, where he was displaced to, on the day the ceasefire was announced, but was worried he might have to abandon his home and life all over again. 'I really don't want to have to pack my things and leave my home without knowing when, or if, I can come back.' Despite this underlying anxiety, the streets of Tehran are visibly busier than before the ceasefire. As companies end their remote work policies and recall employees, there is evidence of a cautious, determined return to life in the capital. Infrastructure damage across Tehran was significant, with attacks striking multiple provinces, including Alborz, East Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Fars, Kermanshah, and the capital itself. The Israeli military claimed to have struck more than 100 targets across Iran during the 12-day conflict. In the early mornings, the hum of traffic weaves through Tehran's wide boulevards once more. 'Seeing others return to the city alongside me, watching cafes and restaurants reopen, and feeling life flow back into the streets – it truly lifts my heart,' said Saba, her eyes bright with cautious optimism. Yet, as the city stirs back to life, the shadow of an uncertain ceasefire looms, a quiet reminder that this fragile revival could be tested at any moment. This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.
