Hamas appoints new chief as Putin calls for ‘restrained’ response from Iran – latest

The US has communicated to Iran and Israel that conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, secretary of state Antony Blinken said.

“We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We’ve communicated that message directly to Israel,” Mr Blinken said.

The US will continue to defend Israel against attacks, Mr Blinken said, but noted that everyone in the region should understand the risks of escalation and miscalculation.

“Further attacks only raise the risk of dangerous outcomes that no one can predict and no one can fully control.”

At least 19 were wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday, including six soldiers, as Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched drone attacks.

Most of those injured were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket which missed the missile and hit the ground, with guidelines in northern Israel calling for residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area”.

Strikes have been carried out almost every day between Israel and Hezbollah since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza 10 months ago.

World leaders are trying desperately to stop tensions in the Middle East from escalating into a devastating regional war.

Hezbollah’s military response to Israeli attacks will be strong and effective, said its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Speaking to mark the one-week memorial of Fuad Shukr, the group’s top military commander who was killed in an Israeli strike in the suburbs of Beirut, Nasrallah warned that the powerful Lebanese militant group would respond whatever the consequences.

Nasrallah added that Hezbollah should not be expected to deal with the Israeli strikes on Beirut as any ordinary attack.

He accused the international community of hypocrisy, claiming they are calling for restraint from the militant group while allowing Israel to kill Palestinians without condemnation.

Israel struck Hezbollah last Tuesday, in what its forces described as a “intelligence-based elimination”.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the time condemned the strike as “blatant Israeli aggression”

Fuad Shukr, killed in the strike, was one of Hezbollah’s founders following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Access to medical care for Palestinians in Hebron is rapidly deteriorating because of restrictions imposed by Israeli forces and violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

“The movement restrictions, and harassment and violence by Israeli forces and settlers, is inflicting immense and unnecessary suffering on Palestinians in Hebron,” said Frederieke van Dongen, MSF humanitarian affairs manager.

“This is having a disastrous impact on people’s mental and physical health.”

Russia will deliver advanced air defence systems and other military equipment to Iran as Tehran prepares to retaliate against Israel over the killing of Hamas’s top political leader.

Moscow agreed to deliver military aid after Tehran requested more arms from its ally, Iranian officials told The New York Times.

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian told a senior ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin yesterday that Tehran was determined to expand relations with its “strategic partner Russia”.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, met Iran’s president and top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.

“Russia is among the countries that have stood by the Iranian nation during difficult times,” Mr Pezeshkian said in a meeting with Mr Shoigu.

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Iran last week and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.

The US Central Comman says that in the past 24 hours it has destroyed Houthi aerial vehicle over Red Sea.

A statement, posted on the USCC official X account, read: “In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle and two Iranian-backed Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the Red Sea.

“These weapons presented a clear and imminent threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region.

“This reckless and dangerous behavior by Iranian-backed Houthis continues to threaten regional stability and security.”