live blog
Israel’s army has said it has killed the commander of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. The Houthi militia in Yemen has claimed responsibility for two attacks on merchant ships. All developments in the live blog.
The Israeli army has said it has killed the commander of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad for the Nur Shams refugee settlement in the West Bank. Mohammed Abdullah was “eliminated” in an Israeli airstrike on the camp in Tulkarem on Thursday, the military said. Islamic Jihad has not yet confirmed Abdullah’s death.
According to the Israeli army, Abdullah was the successor to Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, who was killed in an Israeli attack at the end of August. The army said Abdullah was involved in “numerous attacks in the region”. Another “terrorist” was killed during the military operation and, among other things, M-16 rifles were seized.
According to a report, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not want to support the USA in a possible Israeli retaliation against Iran. This was reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing US and Arab officials.
The four countries where US troops are stationed have informed the US government that their military infrastructure or airspace may not be used by the US or Israel for offensive operations against Iran.
Israel has threatened Tehran with “deadly and precise” retaliation after Iran fired around 200 rockets at Israel in early October. The WSJ now reported, citing Arab officials, that if this were to happen, Iran would respond with devastating strikes on Israel’s civilian infrastructure and retaliate against any Arab state that supported the attack.
The Lebanese UN Ambassador Hadi Hachem called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah, but this fell on the deaf ears of the Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon. Hachem told an emergency UN Security Council meeting called by France that Israel would not achieve security and stability through bombings and an invasion.
“Israel cannot return the displaced people to their homes without an agreement,” he said. Lebanon is fully behind a Franco-American initiative for a three-week ceasefire “during which we can resolve outstanding border issues.” He accused Israel of agreeing to the move “before it backed off and escalated its aggression.” Danon told the Security Council that Israeli ground soldiers would “weaken Hezbollah’s capabilities, depriving it of the ability to carry out attacks on our people and weakening the terrorist network that extends across southern Lebanon.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia claimed responsibility for two new attacks on commercial ships on Thursday. Houthi military spokesman Jahja Saree said the Liberian-flagged tanker Olympic Spirit, which was sailing in the Red Sea, was “attacked by eleven ballistic missiles and two drones and hit directly and severely.” The Houthi spokesman called the tanker an “American oil tanker.”
The Houthis also targeted the ship “St. John” in the Indian Ocean. The British Maritime Safety Authority UKMTO had previously announced that a ship had been hit by an “unknown projectile” and that the ship had sustained damage. However, no victims or fires were initially reported.
According to a media report, the governments in Tel Aviv and Washington have come closer to planning a possible Israeli retaliatory strike against Iran. Israeli ideas are still somewhat more aggressive than the White House would like, the US news portal Axios reported, citing American and Israeli officials. However, we are moving in the right direction, said a US official after the phone call between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil, the Israeli government can only expect limited solidarity in view of the current escalation in the Middle East. “We have unrestricted solidarity with the State of Israel, I do not have unrestricted solidarity with the Netanyahu government,” said Klingbeil on Thursday evening on the ZDF program “maybrit illner”.
A debate about the doubts about the proportionality of the Israeli reaction is justified, emphasized Klingbeil. He accused the Israeli government of having no real plan for the future: “What is actually the plan for what stability and order in the region can look like?” That’s why the pressure from the USA, Europe and Germany for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, but also for a two-state solution, is exactly the right one.
According to the USA and France, the Lebanese army needs to be strengthened in order to implement an important UN Security Council resolution. “The solution to this crisis is not a weaker Lebanon. It is a strong and truly sovereign Lebanon protected by a legitimate security force embodied by the Lebanese Armed Forces,” US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said at a meeting of the 15-member Security Council. The international community must focus its efforts on strengthening Lebanese state institutions, the ambassador said.
The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force wants to remain at its post in southern Lebanon despite Israeli attacks in recent days. “We are there because the United Nations Security Council asked us to be there. So we will stay there until the situation becomes impossible for us,” said UNIFIL peacekeeping spokesman Andrea Tenenti.
The second round of vaccination against polio is scheduled to start in the Gaza Strip from Monday. Around 590,000 children under the age of ten will then be vaccinated, as Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell announced on the X platform. For this purpose, area-specific humanitarian ceasefires have been agreed.
“It is critical that these breaks are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate children,” Russell wrote.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said that de-escalation is necessary in the Middle East. The region has been in turmoil for months due to Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, she told reporters in Las Vegas.
After the shelling of a UNIFIL base, the nations involved in the mission expressed sharp criticism of Israel. According to the UN, ceasefires for polio vaccinations have been agreed in the Gaza Strip. Thursday’s developments to read.