Israel-Hamas war: Air force strikes Hezbollah ‘terrorist’ targets in Lebanon; Iran issues warning. Latest updates
US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make clear Israel has the right to defend itself, secretary of state Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday, as the war between the Israeli forces and Palestine-based Hamas militants entered its 11th day.
Blinken also said the US and Israel agreed to develop a plan that would enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organisations to reach civilians in Gaza.
Earlier, Iran’s foreign minister said Israel would not be allowed to act in Gaza without consequences, warning of “preemptive action” in the coming hours.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza after fighters burst into Israel on October 7, killing 1,300 people, mainly civilians, in the deadliest day in the country’s 75-year-old history.
Gaza authorities said over 2,800 people have been killed there, around a quarter of them children, and more than 10,000 wounded are in hospitals desperately short of supplies.
Meanwhile, Israel launched strikes overnight on Hezbollah “terrorist” targets in Lebanon, the Israeli army said in a statement early on Tuesday.
Israel-Hamas war: Latest updates on October 17
Antony Blinken said after lengthy discussions with Netanyahu that Biden will reaffirm solidarity with Israel, which has widely been expected to launch a ground assault in Gaza.
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV: “Leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza. … All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza.” “The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy (Israel)… in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front,” he said, without elaborating. Iran refers to regional countries and forces opposed to Israel and the United States as a “resistance front.”
The Israeli Air Force said it struck “terror targets and military infrastructure” of the Hezbollah in Lebanon, in response to fire yesterday (Monday) towards Israel.
Calling this “the worst of times,” the UN humanitarian chief said the United Nations is in “deep discussions” with the Israelis, Egyptians and others about getting aid through the Rafah crossing, “hugely helped” by Blinken who has been travelling in the region. Martin Griffiths, who is heading to Cairo on Tuesday “to try to help in the negotiations,” said in an interview with the UN on Monday that he was hoping for “some good news” soon.
Some 400 of the 950 Israeli civilian bodies sent to the National Center of Forensic Medicine following the Hamas attacks remain unidentified, the head of the centre said on Monday. “The amount of charred bodies that we receive now, the proportion is high,” Dr Chen Kugel said. “I don’t know how long it will take.”
The UN Security Council on Monday rejected a Russian resolution condemning spiralling violence in the Middle East, with delegates refusing to back a motion that did not single out Hamas for its surprise attack on Israel. The council huddled as Israel readied for an expected ground assault on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas terrorists have released footage of a hostage, who was kidnapped amid the Israel attacks, showing the woman receiving medical care while asking to be returned home. Mia Shem, 21, is seen with her arm bandaged up in the clip posted on Hamas’ Telegram channel on Monday. She then addressed the camera directly, saying her hand was injured, but underwent surgery by Hamas at a hospital in Gaza.