Latest news with #IsraeliForces
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israel army issues evacuation warning for parts of north Gaza
Israel's military issued Sunday an evacuation order for the northern Gaza Strip, warning Palestinians in parts of Gaza City and nearby areas of imminent action there, more than 20 months into the war with Hamas. Israeli forces 'will operate with intense force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand... to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organizations,' military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement posted on X alongside a map of northern Gaza, telling residents to 'evacuate immediately south to Al-Mawasi' for safety.
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Israel kills 60 in Gaza, claims senior Hamas official among dead
Israeli forces killed at least 60 people in Gaza on Saturday, sources at Gaza hospitals tell Al Jazeera, including at least nine children in an attack on Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood. The Israeli army says it killed senior Hamas figure Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa in fighting in Gaza City.
Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Iran's illusion of strength has been irrevocably damaged
A mass funeral in Tehran for five dozen people, including senior scientists and military commanders MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA I n Tehran on Saturday a state funeral was held for five dozen people killed during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. They included senior military and intelligence figures, such as the heads of Iran's armed forces and Revolutionary Guards as well as nuclear scientists. More than 600 people were killed in Iran as Israel took control of its skies, compared with fewer than 30 deaths in Israel from retaliatory missile strikes. Israel was joined in the attacks on Iran last weekend by the United States; a ceasefire followed, which has held. Since then, a debate has been raging over whether Iran's nuclear programme was obliterated, as claimed by President Trump, or set back by a few months, as early US intelligence reports suggested. The debate, which infuriated the president, is important, though Iran's foreign minister concedes 'excessive and serious' damage was done to its nuclear sites. The debate should not detract from what has been an enormous defeat and humiliation for Iran. Yesterday's state funeral was notable for the number of senior military and security figures taken out during the conflict. Iran's 'strongman' reputation has suffered a blow from which it may never recover. Israel and America's success in this short conflict follows setbacks for Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is too soon to write it off as a threat to international security but Iran will be licking its wounds for some time. And that is good news.
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Iran expected to step up nuclear secrecy after US strikes
US air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities have strengthened Tehran's desire to become more secretive about its activities and sideline the UN's atomic watchdog, experts said on Thursday. President Donald Trump said his administration 'successfully' struck three nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – in Iran on Sunday, although the extent of the damage remains unclear. The attacks followed Israeli strikes across Iran aimed at destroying its nuclear capabilities over 12 days. Iran retaliated by striking key areas in Israel, while blaming the International Atomic Energy Agency for fuelling unease about its nuclear activities. An Iranian bill to suspend co-operation with the IAEA moved closer to passage on Thursday. A ceasefire was agreed upon early on Tuesday, ending the exchanges that killed hundreds of people and caused extensive damage. However, questions remain on how badly Iran's nuclear activities have been set back. 'Air strikes haven't destroyed all of Iran's nuclear programme, and if anything, they have reinvigorated a desire to be more secretive on their nuclear programme,' said Dina Esfandiary, a Middle East expert at Bloomberg Geoeconomics. 'That's not to say that they're going to dash for the bomb, but many people in Iran are calling for that,' she told The National. A leaked US Defence Intelligence Agency assessment has suggested the core components of Iran's nuclear programme have not been destroyed and the strikes only set back Iran's efforts by months rather than years. But that is only an initial assessment, and is labelled as 'low confidence' because it is early in the process of trying to understand what happened. On June 13. Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists. More than a dozen were killed. That was followed by the US attack that hit the nuclear sites with 'bunker-buster' bombs. 'Despite the elimination of senior defence figures and nuclear experts, the regime still possesses the technical expertise necessary to develop a nuclear weapon,' Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East programme at London's Chatham House, said. She said it is likely that 'Iran relocated sensitive nuclear materials from prominent locations such as the Fordow facility before the assault. The scope of the damage remains uncertain.' 'Therefore, a long-term resolution to the nuclear challenge will ultimately require a diplomatic approach,' Ms Vakil told The National. Iranian hostility towards IAEA The UN watchdog is requesting access to some of Iran's major nuclear facilities now that the war is over, but it is highly unlikely that Tehran will allow it, Ms Esfandiary said. IAEA inspectors have remained in Iran throughout the conflict and are ready to start work as soon as possible, going back to the country's nuclear sites and verifying the inventories of nuclear material, the agency's director Rafael Grossi said. Iran's parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend co-operation with the IAEA. The decision was approved on Thursday by the Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists that vets legislation. The National has contacted the IAEA for a comment. 'Iran is taking a hostile posture towards the IAEA with its vote in parliament as a prelude to negotiations,' Ms Vakil said. Iran has long denied any intention of building a nuclear bomb and it insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. 'The Iran-Israel war has further negatively affected Iran's relationship with the IAEA,' Farzan Sabet, managing researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said. 'Tehran historically has had its suspicions of the IAEA and raised questions about its impartiality. 'Tehran will be suspicious about the extent to which the IAEA was used both by the Americans, the Israelis and other western intelligence to infiltrate its nuclear programme and gain knowledge that was then used to conduct strikes on Iranian facilities,' Mr Sabet told The National. Before the Israeli strikes, the IAEA board had passed a resolution declaring that Tehran was breaching its non-proliferation obligations, which triggered objections from Iran. Since the start of the war, Iranian officials have criticised the agency for failing to condemn the Israeli attacks.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Wages ‘Psychological War' on Residents of Southern Lebanon
Residents of southern Lebanon say they are living under the constant shadow of an Israeli 'psychological war,' as drones hover overhead, sound bombs explode near villages, and airstrikes fuel a growing climate of fear across the border region. While Israeli air raids and ground incursions have escalated in recent weeks, locals in towns such as Mays al-Jabal, Hula, and Kfar Kila report an additional, subtler kind of assault: one that aims not to destroy buildings, but to break spirits. 'Drones don't leave our skies,' Mohammad, a resident of Bint Jbeil, told Asharq Al-Awsat. 'Explosions near homes, constant buzzing, and open threats on Israeli media – it's designed to keep people afraid.' The psychological toll has been mounting. Sound bombs were dropped in Hula on Wednesday, while Israeli forces crossed the border near the village of Tufa, setting fire to a truck clearing rubble. In the town of Mansouri, a man was injured by an Israeli drone strike and hospitalized in nearby Tyre. In a separate incident, a man in his thirties was wounded by unexploded ordnance. Israel's tactics, residents say, aim to paralyze daily life and force displacement. 'This is more than a military campaign. It's a war on the mind,' said former Mays al-Jabal mayor Abdel Moneim Shuqair, noting that only around 500 residents have returned to the town out of a pre-escalation population of 7,000. Movement in the south has become increasingly perilous. Roads like the one linking Maroun al-Ras to Bint Jbeil are now considered too risky to travel. 'People avoid them because they're completely exposed to Israeli surveillance. Any moment, a car could be targeted,' Shuqair told Asharq Al-Awsat. On that note, Mohammed added that Israel doesn't just want locals to leave; it wants to break their will to return. In Kfar Kila, resident Mona Awadah described fleeing her home after it was targeted. Her husband survived the attack, but their home was no longer safe. 'We were one of the first families to return after the truce,' she said. 'We put up a prefabricated home on our farmland, but even that was targeted. It's as if they're saying: you're not safe anywhere – not even on your own land.' Locals say the absence of a comprehensive state-led reconstruction plan is exacerbating their sense of abandonment. Efforts to rebuild homes or install mobile housing units have reportedly drawn further Israeli strikes. Some families have taken shelter in public schools, sleeping on makeshift bedding. 'There's no alternative for us but this country and this army,' said Shuqair. 'We need a clear stance from the state and a serious plan for a safe and dignified return,' he added. As fear becomes routine, some residents warn of an even more dangerous development – adaptation. 'The biggest danger is that people are starting to get used to the emptiness,' said Mohammad. 'That's what the occupation wants – for us to forget our land.'
