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The US is cranking every lever to turn this crisis into a long-lasting peace. But is it an impossible dream?By Tom Bateman, state department correspondent (BBC News)
The measure passes after the US refrains from using its veto, in a shift from its previous position.By Raffi Berg (BBC News)
Israel says the ceasefire demand led Hamas to reject a deal, but the US calls the claim inaccurate.By David Gritten (BBC News)
Family members and activists blocked a main road in Tel Aviv, demanding more be done to free them.By Yolande Knell (BBC News)
The Iran-backed movement fires rockets into Israel killing one, after a deadly strike on a Lebanese village.By Robert Greenall (BBC News)
The Hague court says Gaza is "no longer facing only a risk of famine" but that "famine is setting in".By Christy Cooney (BBC News)
Large anti-government protests have brought Israel's deep political splits back to the surface.By Jeremy Bowen (BBC News)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would "act immediately" to close the Qatari network's local office.By Ido Vock & Hugo Bachega (BBC News)
#Israeli PM Benjamin #Netanyahu says the convoy they were in was hit unintentionally
"It happens in war... and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again," he says
At least two British nationals are understood to have been killed, along with Australian, Polish, Palestinian and a dual US-Canadian citizen
Seven aid workers, including foreign nationals, have been killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza.By Hafsa Khalil & Rushdi Abualouf (BBC News)
The military says commandos retrieved the man's body from Gaza in an overnight operation in Khan Yunis.By Jemma Crew (BBC News)
#Israel 's military said on Sunday that it was reducing its numbers of soldiers from southern #Gaza , leaving just one brigade in the area.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68755724
Israel's military says it has completed its mission in Khan Younis and its troops will rotate out.By Lipika Pelham and Rushdi Abualouf (BBC News)
Israel's prime minister is facing calls to ramp up war on Hamas by right-wing political allies.By Hugo Bachega, in Jerusalem, and Sean Seddon (BBC News)
Nicaragua accused Berlin of "facilitating" genocide by selling over $300m worth of weapons to Israel.By Matt Murphy (BBC News)
Palestinians describe widescale destruction as thousands go home after Israel pulls out.By Sebastian Usher (BBC News)
BBC's Jeremy Bowen visits kibbutz Nir Oz six months after Hamas attack.BBC News
#BBCNews - #Netanyahu meets top officials as fears of #Iran attack on #Israel grow
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68796363
#TheGlobalJigsaw has looked into the origins of Iran's so called Axis of Resistance last week - #IRGC #qudsforce #Basij militias...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6qpb
Part 2 on the foreign affiliates coming soon
Israel says it is ready to defend itself against retaliation for an attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria.By Kathryn Armstrong & Hugo Bachega, Middle East correspondent (BBC News)
V Guardian:
The Guardian view on Gaza peace talks: a deal is needed to stop a slide into chaos
Editorial: The seeds of a forever war are being planted in the coastal strip. They must not be allowed to take rootEditorial (The Guardian)
Capitals from around the world are watching and waiting with bated breath to see what Iran does next.By Lyse Doucet (BBC News)
Iran launches drones and missiles at Israel, after threatening Israel with a reprisal attack.By Raffi Berg (BBC News)
#Iran had warned that #Israel would be "punished" for a strike on its consulate in #Syria on 1 April
Seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, and six Syrians were killed in the Damascus attack
Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran but has not claimed the Damascus strike
(Cont.)
#TheGlobalJigsaw has looked into how Iranâs Revolutionary Guard Corps or #IRGC, the #Quds force and the #Basij militias operate and how have they become so influential. We examined the ideological blueprint of the #Tehran-led influence network that has been shaping events in the Middle East for decades:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6qpb
And a thread with quotes from this episode:
https://journa.host/@fulelo/112223879307275601
The origins of the Iran-cultivated alliance of like-minded states and groupsBBC
Latest #IDF stmt: #Iran launched UAVs from within its territory toward #Israel. The IDF is on high alert and is monitoring the operational situation.
The IDF Aerial Defense Array is on high alert, along with IAF fighter jets and Israeli Navy vessels that are on a defense mission in Israeli air and naval space. The IDF is monitoring all targets.
We ask the public to adhere to and follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and the official IDF announcements regarding the matter."
Airspaces closed across Middle East
The situation is developing rapidly, with governments around the Middle East responding to the news of the drone attacks.
#Jordan, #Lebanon and #Iraq, three nations located on the likely flight path of these drones, have shut their airspace.
#Iran and #Israel have also closed theirs to all but military aircraft
V BBC's Frank Gardner:
'This is exactly the escalation in the simmering conflict between #Iran, its proxies and #Israel that everyone feared: a direct attack by one nation against another.
Israel has several layers of air defences and it has vowed to respond to any attack.
The risk now is that this tit-for-tat continues to escalate into a full-blown regional war, something most governments in the region have been trying hard to avoid ever since the #Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October.'
In last week's #TheGlobalJigsaw we attempted to deconstruct #Iran 's narrative + the ideological blueprint and tools of the Islamic Republic - it is worth a listen to understand the current push and pull tactics:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6qpb
The origins of the Iran-cultivated alliance of like-minded states and groupsBBC
V NYTimes:
'British fighter jets and aerial refueling planes based in Cyprus have taken over much of the counterterrorism mission in the skies over Iraq and northeastern #Syria , freeing up American warplanes normally operating there to help defend #Israel against the #Iranian drone attack on Saturday, a British official said.'
Analysis by #BBC Lyse Doucet:
This is uncharted territory fraught with risk and unpredictability.
#Iran and #Israel have fought shadow wars for decades, but for the first time Iran is now targeting Israel directly from #Iranian soil.
This is no longer a confrontation led by Iranâs array of powerful proxies across the region against an enemy which has long kept silent about its own attacks on Iranian assets and targeted assassinations.
(Cont.)
' #Israel describes #Iran as the worldâs greatest sponsor of terrorism; for Iran, hostility towards Israel, what it calls the âZionist regimeâ is a core tenet of its 1979 revolutionary doctrine.
The risk of confrontation had risen with every month the #Gaza war has ground on.
Iran has long prided itself on playing a long game, on exercising âstrategic patience".
Iranâs supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has avoided all-out war ever since he came to power in 1989.'
What happened in the last few hours:
#Israel says that around 300 drones and missiles were fired by #Iran, and that some of the launches also came from #Iraq and #Yemen
Videos showed explosions and fireballs over #Jerusalem as Israeli air defences worked to defeat Iran's unprecedented attack
This is the first time #Tehran has directly attacked Israel after years of waging proxy wars with its affiliates, including Hezbollah and Hamas
#China has now weighed in as well:
#Beijing said it was "deeply concerned about the current escalation", adding it called on "relevant parties to remain calm and restrained to avoid further escalation of tensions".
It has close diplomatic and economic ties w #Iran - and the US had been calling on Beijing to urge #Tehran not to launch a retaliatory attack on #Israel
However, US officials had privately said they had seen no evidence that China had applied pressure on Iran, acc to the FT
President #Biden said that he will convene the #G7 leaders on Sunday "to co-ordinate a united diplomatic response to #Iran 's brazen attack" on #Israel
Biden said that while the US has not seen attacks on its facilities, it "remains vigilant to all threats".
"We will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people," Biden says.
Meanwhile the UN Security Council will convene on Sunday too for an emergency meeting over Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel
Latest on on the talks to try to secure a #hostage - prisoner swap and ceasefire in #Gaza :
#Hamas has rejected the latest outline of a plan put forward by mediators, according to #Israel 's intelligence agency #Mossad
The #Israeli agency says in a statement the rejection "proves that Yahya #Sinwar does not want a humanitarian deal and the return of the #hostages ".
(Cont.)
#Hamas "is continuing to exploit the tension with #Iran , and is striving to unite the sectors and achieve a general escalation in the region", the statement continues.
" #Israel will continue to strive to realize the objectives of the war with #Hamas with full force, and leave no stone unturned to return the 133 hostages from #Gaza forthwith."
V Haaretz:
' #Israel Made Mistakes on #Gaza . It Has More to Lose on #Iran '
On October 7 and on April 13, Israel was under attack. Both times, the country's leadership failed to properly assess the enemy's intentions, and both times, Israel won the sympathy of the Western world - but not for long.Anshel Pfeffer (Haaretz)
The authorities defend attacking Israel, but not all Iranians see it that way.Jiyar Gol (BBC News)
The Gulf state's PM says it has been exploited and abused after trying to secure a ceasefire.Wyre Davies & David Gritten (BBC News)
The expanded penalties target companies involved in the production of drones and missiles.Hannah Ritchie (BBC News)
Aviva Siegel tells the BBC of the brutal conditions she, Keith and others faced in Hamas captivity.Lucy Manning, special correspondent, in Tel Aviv (BBC News)
Benjamin Netanyahu's representatives have agreed to take US concerns "into account", the White House says.Alex Therrien & John Sudworth in New York (BBC News)
The Palestinian Red Crescent says Mohammed Awad Allan, 50, was shot while trying to treat injured people.Thomas Mackintosh (BBC News)
Fighting continues in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is overshadowed by the wider regional conflict.Yolande Knell (BBC News)
Reports say the US is planning to cut military aid to one Israeli unit over alleged rights violations.Tom Bateman (BBC News)
The statement denouncing "calls for violence" comes as protests at New York's Columbia University continue.Jacqueline Howard (BBC News)
Maj Gen Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the 7 October attack.David Gritten (BBC News)
Demonstrators at NYU and Yale are arrested while Columbia cancels in-person classes for safety.James FitzGerald & Bernd Debusmann Jr (BBC News)
The report adds Israel has not provided "supporting evidence" that many UNRWA staff are members of terror groups.Imogen Foulkes (BBC News)
The prison service did not directly address reports 13 prisoners had died since last October.Shaimaa Khalil and Mohamed Madi (BBC News)
Countries including the US and UK are still withholding funds over Israel's claims against UNRWA.Phelan Chatterjee (BBC News)
Six months of conflict have also taken a heavy economic toll.Wyre Davies (BBC News)
Palestinian officials say more than 300 bodies have been found at Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.David Gritten (BBC News)
Stephen Sackur speaks to ex-president of the International Court of Justice Joan Donoghue.BBC
V Guardian:
Most Jews and Palestinians want peace. Extremists, narcissists âand other âalliesâ only block the way
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/26/jews-palestinians-peace-gaza-narcissist-allies?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
By Jonathan Freedland
#Israel #Gaza
Both sides are beset by those who think their words and deeds bring peace closer. Instead they make a better future harder to attain, says Guardian columnist Jonathan FreedlandJonathan Freedland (The Guardian)
#BBCNews - Have Iran- #Israel missile strikes changed the Middle East?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68900571
More on the #drones used in the attack on #TheGlobalJigsaw
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6qpc
More on #Iran 's ideological home front, the #IRGC #QudsForce #Basij militias
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6qpb
More on Irans proxies and allies - the #PMFin #Iraq the #Houthis in #Yemen #Assad in #Syria #Hezbollah in #Lebanon and #Hamas in #Gaza
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0htcwzj
Political and military leaders are still absorbing the extraordinary exchange of fire, writes James Landale.James Landale (BBC News)
But all five units remain eligible for US military aid after Israel took action, the state department says.Tom Bateman (BBC News)
The Israeli prime minister says the invasion will proceed "with or without" a truce with Hamas.Matt Murphy (BBC News)
The network denies being a threat to security, and says Israel wants "to cover up its crimes".Vicky Wong (BBC News)
The UN says Gaza's main aid arteries are "choked off" after troops shut the key crossing with Egypt.David Gritten (BBC News)
A bomb shipment was halted last week over concerns Israel was going ahead with a Rafah offensive.Jaroslav Lukiv, Chris Partridge & Tom Bateman in Washington (BBC News)
Israel says lorries arrived at the key Kerem Shalom crossing, but the UN says no aid entered Gaza.David Gritten (BBC News)
Passing the resolution is seen as symbolic, as the US is likely to use its veto in the Security Council.Raffi Berg (BBC News)
V EEAS:
#Gaza : Statement by the High Representative on #Israel âs operation in #Rafah
The European Union urges Israel to end its military operation in Rafah immediately. This operation is further disrupting the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and is leading to more internal displacement, exposure to famine and human sufferingâŠEEAS
Images shared online include Palestinian detainees draped in the Israeli flag and held in stress positions.Merlyn Thomas & Jamie Ryan & Paul Brown (BBC News)
V The Economist:
'The revolt against Binyamin #Netanyahu
His war cabinet and generals want a new planâand a new boss'
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/05/19/the-revolt-against-binyamin-netanyahu
The ICC said there were grounds to believe Israeli and Hamas leaders bore criminal responsibility for war crimes.BBC News
#Russia and #China have vetoed a US draft resolution that tied an immediate #ceasefire in #Gaza to the release of #hostages held by #Hamas
It was the first time the US has supported calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region, having previously blocked such demands at the UN
#Netanyahu says #Israel plans to launch a ground offensive in #Rafah with or without US support, as he meets US secretary of state in Israel