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The Israeli army has launched a military operation in the central part of Gaza. Due to tensions in the Middle East, Lufthansa has canceled flights to the Iranian capital Tehran. All developments in the live blog.
The Israeli army said it began a military operation in the central section of the Gaza Strip last night. A statement from the army spoke of a “precise operation based on intelligence information with the aim of eliminating terrorist operatives and targeting terrorist infrastructure in the central sector of Gaza.”
Before ground troops advanced, Israeli warplanes attacked terrorist targets above and below ground. At least five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a residential building in a refugee neighborhood, according to medics. The army said soldiers “identified an armed terrorist” during the night’s operation. A fighter jet hit him as he approached the troops.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by the Palestinian and Israeli conflict parties cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
The airline Lufthansa is suspending daily flights from Frankfurt Airport to the Iranian capital Tehran until at least Saturday. A Lufthansa spokesman said the reason was safety concerns. The airline suspended the connection for the first time yesterday.
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow is calling on Russian citizens to avoid traveling to the Middle East. This applies in particular to Israel, Lebanon and Palestinian territories, as the Reuters news agency quoted the ministry as saying.
The background is reports from the US news agency Bloomberg that the USA should expect imminent attacks by Iran on Israel. The agency relies on US intelligence sources.
The US military says it has shot down eleven drones belonging to the Yemeni Houthi militia, which is supported by Iran. As the US regional command responsible for the Middle East (Centcom) announced on the online service X, the drones were shot down during the previous day. They posed an “imminent threat” to US ships, its partners and merchant vessels in the region. The Houthi militia had previously said it had targeted two Israeli ships, a US merchant vessel and a US warship.
Lufthansa has canceled flights to the Iranian capital Tehran amid tensions in the Middle East. “Due to the current situation in the Middle East, Lufthansa has decided, after careful evaluation, to suspend flights to and from Tehran until Thursday, April 11, 2024,” the company said on Wednesday evening upon request.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities,” it continued. “The safety of our guests and crew members is Lufthansa’s top priority.” Recently, there have been increasing threats from Iran against Israel following an attack on an Iranian consular building in Damascus last week, which was attributed to Israel.
The USA assures Israel of its solidarity. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call that the US would stand on Israel’s side if there was a threat from Iran, the US State Department said. Blinken and Gallant also discussed ongoing efforts to release the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian news agency “Mehr” has deleted a report about the closure of the airspace over the capital Tehran. In a new report, the parastatal agency denied having published such a report.
The original message on Platform Iran and Israel had previously threatened each other with attacks.
Lufthansa is suspending its flights to the Iranian capital Tehran due to the situation in the Middle East. Hamas has confirmed the deaths of three sons of its leader Haniya. The live blog to read.