Fears of wider war in Middle East grow as Israel and Iran trade threats

The Middle East moved closer to a longfeared regional war on Wednesday a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel said it began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iranbacked Hezbollah militiaIsrael said it intercepted many of the missiles and officials in Washington said US destroyers assisted in Israels defence Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets There have been no reports of casualtiesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran which he said ldquomade a big mistake tonight and it will pay for itrdquo An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliatesThe United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiralling conflictIsrael and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas crossborder attack on October 7 2023 which killed 1200 Israelis and took 250 others hostageIsrael declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response More than 41000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory and just over half the dead have been women and children according to local health officialsHere is the latest US sanctions Iranian man and Chinese firms accused of helping Houthis WASHINGTON mdash The US has imposed sanctions on an Iranian man and three Chinese firms that Washington believes helped the Houthi militant group acquire materials needed to manufacture and deploy advanced missiles and drones against the US and its alliesIranian citizen Hasan Ahmad Hasan Muhammad alKuhlani is named in the sanctions announced on Wednesday He is accused of facilitating weapons smuggling for the HouthisTreasurys Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T Smith says the Houthis ldquocontinue to leverage their networks of companies and procurement operatives to sustain their reckless attacks on civilian vessels their unarmed crews and civilian populationsrdquoUN chief demands an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East UNITED NATIONS ndash The United Nations chief is demanding a halt to the escalation of ldquotitfortat violencerdquo that he warned is leading people in the Middle East ldquostraight over the cliffrdquoSecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday that in just a week the alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad ldquoto much much worserdquoldquoIt is absolutely essential to avoid an allout war in Lebanon which would have profound and devastating consequencesrdquo he saidGuterres strongly condemned Tuesdays Iranian missile attack against Israel He also criticized attacks against Israel by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon and he lambasted Israel for the ldquomost deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretarygeneralrdquo mdash referring to the conflict in Gaza in response to Hamas October 7 attacksldquoIt is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gazardquo he said ldquoIt is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon hellip It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliffrdquo Israel says 7 soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon JERUSALEM mdash The Israeli military says seven soldiers have been killed in combat in southern LebanonThe deaths were announced Wednesday a day after Israel said it had launched a ground incursion across its northern borderFighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants is ongoing in southern Lebanon both sides said in separate statementsThe news comes as Israel sends more troops and artillery to the border areaIsrael eases restrictions on public gatherings near the Lebanese border JERUSALEM mdash Israel has eased restrictions on gatherings for its residents living in the countrys north near the Lebanese borderThe Home Front Command said up to 50 residents can gather in outside spaces in northern Galilee and the Israeliheld Golan Heights Gatherings of up to 250 people are allowed in closed spacesIn the coastal Haifa area outside gatherings of up to 60 people are allowed it said WednesdayLimits on gatherings were imposed because of neardaily fire by Lebanons militant Hezbollah group into northern Israel where evacuation orders for Lebanese living closest to the border remain in placeRussia and China urge restraint in the Middle East MOSCOW mdash The Kremlin says the situation in the Middle East is developing into the ldquomost alarming scenario and has called for restraintldquoWe urge all sides to show restraint against the backdrop of the ongoing events and of course we condemn any actions that lead to the deaths of civiliansrdquo spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on WednesdayRussias Foreign Ministry also urged both sides to exercise restraintldquoAll parties involved should abandon provocative actions and show restraint and a responsible approach in line with the wellknown decisions of the United Nations and its Security Councilrdquo Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news conferenceIn Beijing Chinas Foreign Ministry said it ldquoopposes the violation of Lebanons sovereignty security and territorial integrity and oppose moves that fuel antagonism and escalate tensionsrdquoIt didnt single out any country by nameldquoChina calls on the international community especially major countries with influence to play a constructive role and avoid further turmoilrdquo the statement said China believes that the protracted fighting in Gaza is the root cause of this round of turmoil in the Middle East and all parties need to work urgently for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefirerdquo Hezbollah says it killed and wounded Israeli soldiers in Lebanon clashes BEIRUT mdash The Lebanese militant Hezbollah group says its fighters killed and wounded an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers in clashes in southern LebanonHezbollah said they detonated an explosive device as Israeli troops tried to cross deeper into Lebanon toward the southern village of Yaroun on WednesdayHezbollah did not provide a breakdown of the alleged Israeli casualties and there was no immediate reaction from the Israeli military which earlier announced the death of a soldier mdash the first to be killed in the ground incursionGermany criticises Israel for barring UN chief from entering the country BERLIN mdash Germany says Israels decision to bar UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres from entering the country is unhelpfulEarlier on Wednesday Israels foreign minister Israel Katz said he was declaring Guterres ldquopersona non gratardquo deepening an already wide rift with the United NationsGerman Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer acknowledged those tensions and said ldquothis step isnt particularly helpful because in the end more talks are needed and not fewer talksrdquo Germany is a staunch ally of IsraelHe said ldquowe shouldnt deprive ourselves of channels of dialogue that could possibly contribute to bringing about a solutionrdquoAlso on Wednesday Irans charge daffaires in Berlin was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry where German officials condemned Irans missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday and demanded that Tehran and its allies refrain from further attacksNeighbouring Austria also summoned Irans charge daffaires in Vienna to its Foreign MinistryIsraeli military announces its first combat death in Lebanon incursions JERUSALEM mdash The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this weekThe military said on Wednesday that Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster a 22yearold in a commando brigade was killed in combat in LebanonThe military didnt immediately provide other detailsLebanese army says Israeli troops carried out a brief incursion into Lebanon BEIRUT mdash The Lebanese army says Israeli forces breached approximately 400 meters yards into Lebanese territory on Wednesday and then withdrew ldquoafter a short periodrdquoThe statement was the first official acknowledgement from Beirut that Israeli forces are carrying out a ground incursion into LebanonThe Israeli military said Wednesday that ground forces backed by air power killed militants in ldquocloserange engagementsrdquo without saying whereEarlier Wednesday Hezbollahs chief spokesman Mohammed Afif told reporters touring sites of Israeli airstrikes in Beiruts southern suburbs that Hezbollah ldquofought a heroic battle this morningrdquo in the southern villages of Odaisseh and Maroun alRas against Israeli soldiers who launched a ground incursion into LebanonAfif promised the destroyed areas would be rebuild ldquobetter and more beautiful than they were beforerdquo mdash echoing what former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week said in 2006 when the militant group fought a monthlong war with IsraelIsraels foreign minister bars the UN chief from entering Israel JERUSALEM mdash Israels foreign minister says he is barring the United Nations secretarygeneral from entering Israel accusing him of being biased against the countryForeign Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that he was declaring Antonio Guterres ldquopersona non gratardquo and that he would be prevented from entering IsraelThe move deepens an already wide rift between Israel and the United NationsIsraeli police say 7 people died in Tuesdays shooting attack in Tel Aviv TEL AVIV Israel mdash Israeli police says seven people were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv minutes before the Iranian missile barrageTwo Palestinian men from the Israelioccupied West Bank city of Hebron opened fire Tuesday evening in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a stationPolice say the two had no prior arrests though one was accused of disturbing the peace at a demonstration They were shot and killed by security guards and armed pedestriansPolice and paramedics treated another 16 people injured in the shooting as air raid sirens blared across the countryOn Wednesday locals left flowers and candles at the train stop where bullet holes peppered the signs and benchesMaya Brandwine a 33yearold resident of the neighbourhood said she was at a coffee shop on the street when the shooting broke out During the subsequent Iranian missile attack she took cover in a bomb shelter with police carrying out sweeps for additional suspectsldquoIts a nightmare and were starting to get used to itrdquo she said blaming the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and farright National Security Minister Itamar BenGvir for the violenceA Greek man among 7 people killed in the shooting attack in Tel Aviv ATHENS mdash Greeces foreign ministry says a Greek national was among the people killed in Tuesday evenings shooting attack in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel AvivA ministry statement Wednesday said the man whom it did not name was a resident of JerusalemThe ministry condemned what it called a ldquoterroristrdquo attack and expressed the ldquodeepest sorrowrdquo at the death of the Greek nationalIsraeli police said on Wednesday a total of seven people were killed in the shooting including a woman in her 30s who was carrying her 9monthold in a baby sling as they were walking their dogPolice said they had arrested people in the West Bank overnight who assisted with the procurement and transfer of the weaponDeath toll climbs to 51 in an Israeli military operation in southern Gaza health officials say KHAN YOUNIS Gaza Strip mdash Gazas Health Ministry has raised the death toll to 51 with at least 82 people wounded in a large Israeli air and ground operation in the southern city of Khan YounisIsraels military has yet to comment on the operation which began early Wednesday Palestinian residents say ground forces pushed into three neighbourhoods Records at the European Hospital in Khan Younis show that seven women and 12 children as young as 22 months old were among those killedAnother 23 people including two children were killed in separate strikes across Gaza according to local hospitalsThe Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for commentResidents said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighborhoods in Khan Younis Mahmoud alRazd a resident who said four relatives were killed in the raids described heavy destruction and said first responders had struggled to reach destroyed homesIrans supreme leader slams US and European presence in the Mideast in his first remarks since Tehrans missile attack on Israel TEHRAN Iran mdash Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East in his first remarks since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at IsraelKhamenei said on Wednesday that their presence is a source of ldquoconflicts wars concerns and enmitiesrdquo but made no mention of the missile attack the night beforeldquoRegional nations can manage themselves and they will live together in peacerdquo Khamenei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agencyHe said Iran is hopeful of getting ldquorid of the enemies evilrdquo and also urged Western nations to ldquocut their badnessrdquoIran has long seen the US troop presence on its doorstep as a threat and demanded their evacuation from neighbouring Iraq and elsewhere in the regionThe Israeli military warns Lebanese to evacuate 24 villages in the south JERUSALEM mdash The Israeli military has warned people to evacuate another 24 villages across southern LebanonThe warning on Wednesday came days after the military launched what it said were limited ground operations near the border to combat the Hezbollah militant groupThe villages are in a UNdeclared buffer zone established after Israel and Hezbollah fought their last war in 2006Spain will send 2 military planes to evacuate 350 Spanish citizens from Lebanon MADRID mdash Spains Defence Minister Margarita Robles says that her government will send two military planes to evacuate 350 Spanish citizens from LebanonRobles said the planes will depart Spain on Thursday ldquoif conditions in the airspace allow itrdquoThe announcement came a day after Spanish Foreign Minister Joseacute Manuel Albares urged Spaniards in Lebanon to leave the country and for Israel to stop its assaultSpain also has 676 soldiers in Lebanon deployed under a United Nations peacekeeping missionMacron says France is committed to Israels protection PARIS mdash French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Frances commitment to Israels protection and said Paris has ldquomobilised its military resources in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threatrdquo according to a statement from the French presidency on WednesdayFrench military spokesman Col Guillaume Vernet would not comment on military resources deployed after Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israel Tuesday In April France said its forces in the Middle East have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones targeting IsraelMacron condemned Irans attack on Israel ldquoin the strongest termsrdquo and called on all countries involved in ldquothe dangerous escalation of tensionsrdquo in the Middle East ldquoto show the greatest restraintrdquoHe reiterated Frances demand that ldquoHezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its populationrdquo according to the statementThe French president also called on Israel ldquoto end its military operations in Lebanon as soon as possiblerdquo because ldquotoo many civilians have already become victimsrdquoHe said he hoped that Lebanons ldquosovereignty and territorial integrityrdquo would be restored after Israels military operations ldquoin strict compliancerdquo with the United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the IsraelHezbollah war in 2006Irans foreign minister claims the ballistic missile attack on Israel was an act of selfdefence TEHRAN Iran mdash Irans foreign minister has described his nations ballistic missile attack on Israel as selfdefenceAbbas Araghchi made the comments in a television interview on Wednesday in TehranldquoWe sent a message to the American side through the Swiss Embassy suggesting them not to get involved in the storyrdquo Araghchi said ldquoWe will confront and answer any third party that enters any operation against us in support of the Zionist regime and we will have a crushing responserdquo He also reiterated that Irans response to Israel will be ldquoharsherrdquo if Israel attacks Iran in responseSouth Korea to send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict areas in the Middle East SEOUL South Korea ndash South Korea plans to send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict areas in the Middle East as he called a meeting to discuss the impact of intensified fighting in the region President Yoon Suk Yeol saidYoons government on Wednesday didnt immediately provide more details about its evacuation plan including how and when it would be carried out or the possible number of Koreans who could be flown homeThere are reportedly about 480 South Korean nationals living in Israel 130 in Lebanon and 110 in Iran Theres increasing concern about a broader regional war in the Middle East after Iran on Tuesday fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iranbacked Hezbollah groupDuring the government meeting in Seoul Yoon instructed officials to operate a 24hour monitoring system to track the Mideast developments and assess the impact on South Koreas security and economy including possible affects on energy supplies trade logistics and supply chainsGermanys chancellor calls on Iran and Hezbollah to stop their attacks on Israel BERLIN mdash German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling on Iran and Hezbollah to stop their attacks on Israel and says Tehran is risking a wider regional conflagrationScholz issued a statement on Wednesday strongly condemning Irans missile barrage against Israel the previous evening He said that ldquowith this Iran is risking setting the whole region on fire mdash that must be prevented under all circumstances Hezbollah and Iran must cease their attacks on Israel immediatelyrdquoThe chancellor added that Germany will continue to push for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group which he said must lead toward full implementation of a UN Security Council resolution that calls for Hezbollah to withdraw from the area near the Israeli borderScholz said that would ldquoclear the way for people to return to the north of Israel and at the same time open a prospect of consolidating Lebanons statehoodrdquoIsraeli airstrikes on southern Gaza kill 32 people Palestinian medics say KHAN YOUNIS Gaza Strip mdash At least 32 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday Palestinian medical officials saidThe European Hospital in the hardhit city of Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city It said the dead include several women and children and that dozens of people were woundedThere was no immediate comment from the Israeli militaryIsrael has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas October 7 attack ignited the war there even as attention has shifted to Lebanon where Israel is battling Hezbollah and to Iran which launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel late TuesdayDr Saleh alHams head of the nursing department at the European Hospital said dozens of dead and wounded people were brought to his facility and the Nasser Hospital starting at around 3 am Some of the wounded were in critical condition meaning the death toll could rise he saidHe said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighbourhoods in Khan Younis Israel carried out a massive offensive earlier this year that left large parts of the city in ruinsDenmark police report 2 explosions overnight near Israeli Embassy COPENHAGEN mdash Police in Denmark said two explosions took place overnight in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen In a post on X the police said no one had been injured and an investigation was underwayPolice had cordoned off the area while police with search dogs and forensic teams were inspecting the areaAddressing local media on Wednesday morning police refused to give details about the intensity of the reported blasts or the damage they may have caused and said it was too early to say if the explosion was aimed at the embassyOn Tuesday night the area around the Israel embassy in Stockholm was also closed off after a loud bang was reported Police later announced that findings from the scene indicated that the embassy was hit by bullets according to the TT news agencyUK helped Israel repel Iranian missiles LONDON mdash The UK defence chief said Britains military helped Israel repel a missile attack from IranWriting on X Defence Secretary John Healey said British forces ldquoplayed their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle EastrdquoHe did not give details of UK involvementPrime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK supports Israels right to self defence stating that ldquoIran has menaced the Middle East for far too longrdquoIn a televised statement after the missile attack on Tuesday night Starmer said Irans missile attack had left the region ldquoon the brinkrdquo and he was ldquodeeply concerned about the risk of miscalculationrdquoStarmer said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday as part of efforts to prevent a wider conflict Starmers office said he was on the phone with Netanyahu when the Iranian attack beganUN says main Yemeni ports operational after Israeli airstrikes but power stations damaged UNITED NATIONS mdash Yemens two main ports remain operational following Israeli airstrikes but the strikes damaged power stations the United Nations saysUN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen went to assess the situation at Yemens main port of Hodeida and nearby port of Ras Isa following Sundays Israeli strikes targeting sites used by Houthi rebels in the ports in western YemenIsrael said it was retaliating for a Houthi missile fired at central Israel on Saturday which was shot down The Houthis said it was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus plane had just arrived from New York where he addressed the annual meeting of world leaders at the United NationsDujarric said the UNs humanitarian partners reported Tuesday that ldquoafter conducting an initial assessment both ports remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian suppliesrdquoldquoPower stations throughout Hodeida city are however running at a very limited capacityrdquo the UN spokesman saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever