live blog
Israeli border towns are again under rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Satellite images from Iran show traces of fire near Isfahan, suggesting shelling. All developments in the live blog.
The Israeli army says it has deliberately killed two senior members of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. According to Lebanese security sources, an Israeli drone also attacked a vehicle in Adlun between the coastal cities of Tire and Sidon in the morning. A Hezbollah member was killed.
In addition, another member of the Hezbollah anti-aircraft defense force was deliberately killed in another incident that night.
On the 200th day after their abduction from Israel to the Gaza Strip, relatives and supporters of more than 100 hostages held a protest in Tel Aviv to draw attention to their fate. On the square in front of the Habima National Theater, among other things, they lay on the ground in a formation and held up their hands painted blood red.
On the Jewish holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and their liberation from slavery, there will be no freedom for the hostages, the families said, according to the ynet news site.
The shelling of Israeli cities from the Gaza Strip continues. Flight alarm sirens wailed again in the city of Sderot and other places on Tuesday. There were initially no reports of injuries.
The Israeli army said that based on intelligence information, the Israeli Air Force had fired on several rocket launchers belonging to the terrorist organization Hamas in the south of the Gaza Strip. In addition, several Hamas terrorists were shot by snipers.
One person has died in an airstrike on a car in Lebanon that was allegedly carried out by Israel. Eyewitnesses and Lebanese state media reported that the attack occurred on Tuesday in the area around Adlun between the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre, around 40 kilometers north of the border with Israel. Israel did not initially comment on the news.
Since the war in the Gaza Strip began more than six months ago, there have been almost daily battles between the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Israeli military. Israel has repeatedly targeted members of Hezbollah and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, often far from the border.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian has described planned sanctions against his country over the major attack on Israel as “unlawful” and “regrettable”.
At a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states instructed EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell to present concrete proposals for sanctions. They are intended to make it possible to impose further trade restrictions against Iran in order to make it more difficult for the country to build and develop drones and missiles. It is also planned to impose punitive measures against individuals, organizations and companies involved in the production of drones and missiles and their delivery to Iran’s allies in the Middle East.
The background to the sanctions plans is, in particular, the major Iranian attack on Israel with drones and missiles a little over a week ago, which followed a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus.
Satellite images from Monday suggest that the Israeli retaliation against Iran may have caused greater damage than the Iranian leadership wants to admit. The images from the company “Planet Labs PBC” show an area that was used as a deployment site for a Russian anti-aircraft system – traces of fire can be seen there.
Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles on the night of April 14th – the attack was almost completely repelled by Israel’s anti-aircraft defenses. Israel had announced a response to Iran’s unprecedented direct attack. In the early morning of April 19, several explosions were reported from Iran near the city of Isfahan, where the center of Iranian nuclear research is located.
A satellite image of Isfahan from the company “Planet Labs PBC” provided by AP shows destruction.
In light of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York and other US universities, President Joe Biden warned against anti-Semitism but also called for empathy with the Palestinians. Biden was asked on Monday during a speech on Earth Day in the state of Virginia whether he condemned anti-Semitic demonstrators. He replied: “I condemn the anti-Semitic protests. That’s why I developed a program that deals with them. I also condemn those who do not understand what is going on with the Palestinians.” For days, students at the renowned Columbia University and other universities have been demonstrating in solidarity with the Palestinians and against the actions of the Israeli leadership.
Despite international warnings, Israel’s announced ground offensive on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip is getting closer, according to a media report. Israel is preparing to move civilians from Rafah to the nearby town of Khan Yunis and other areas, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials briefed on the Israeli plans.
To this end, shelters with tents, food distribution centers and medical facilities such as field hospitals should be set up, it said. This evacuation operation will last two to three weeks and will be carried out in coordination with the USA, Egypt and other Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, it said.
At the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover, there were renewed protests in Israel by relatives of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of Netanyahu’s private home in the city of Caesarea in the evening and called on the prime minister to reach an agreement to release the hostages held by the radical Islamist Hamas, the Times of Israel reported.
The EU member states have commissioned chief diplomat Josep Borrell to present concrete proposals for new Iran sanctions. Three people were injured in a car attack in Jerusalem. Monday’s developments to read.