US President Joseph Biden said he expects Iran to "skip" a retaliatory attack on Israel if a ceasefire agreement is reached in Gaza, reports Reuters.
The Israeli army uses civilians as human shields during military operations in the Gaza Strip and orders them to go into tunnels and houses in order to check for planted bombs, writes the newspaper "Haretz" today.
"It is better for them to explode than for the soldiers," one soldier was quoted as saying by the Israeli paper of his commander approving the practice.
"Haretz" reports the statements of several soldiers who witnessed the tactics allegedly regularly used in Gaza.
The newspaper report adds that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are not using suspected terrorists but innocent civilians whom they have detained just to use them.
In response to the writing of "Harec", the IDF did not, as it seems, deny the mentioned practice.
It is said that this is prohibited, and that this has been explained to the soldiers and that the allegations are being investigated.
Since October 7 last year, at least 39.929 Palestinian women have been killed and 92.240 wounded in the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip, the local Ministry of Health announced today.
In the past 24 hours, 32 Palestinians were killed and 88 wounded, the statement added.
(Beta)
Hamas today fired two rockets at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, the first in months, and Israeli airstrikes killed at least 19 Palestinians in Gaza, Reuters reports, stating that this is happening as mediators aim to resume ceasefire talks later this year. Sunday.
There are no reports of casualties in Israel.
Two rockets were fired from Gaza, the Israeli army announced, one of which fell into the sea, and the other did not reach Israeli territory.
Hamas's military wing said in a statement: "We bombarded the city of Tel Aviv and its suburbs with two 'M90' rockets in response to the Zionist massacres of civilians and the deliberate displacement of our people."
Israeli airstrikes killed 19 Palestinians in the central and southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, doctors said.
Hamas last claimed to have fired rockets at Tel Aviv in May.
One attack killed six people in Deir Al-Balah, including a mother and her twin four-day-old daughters, while another seven Palestinians were killed in an attack on a house in the nearby Al-Bureij camp.
Four people were killed in two separate attacks on the Al-Magazi camp in the central Gaza Strip and Rafah in the south, and two were killed in an attack on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City in the north, medics said.
The Israeli army and the Islamic Jihad and Hamas movements said they were fighting in several areas of Gaza.
The Israeli military said it killed Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military structures in Khan Yunis, located weapons and explosives in Rafah and hit rocket launchers and sniper posts in central Gaza.
The Israeli army confirmed today that a rocket fired from Gaza towards the central part of Israel fell into the Mediterranean Sea.
The second fired rocket reportedly did not even cross the border and fell inside Palestinian territory, the military statement added.
Hamas previously announced that it fired two long-range rockets, in the first attack on the central part of Israel since the end of May, according to Israeli media.
Residents of the area and a journalist from France Press said they heard an explosion.
Missile defense sirens did not sound because the missiles were not flying towards populated areas, it was announced.
(Beta)
Only a Gaza ceasefire deal expected to emerge this week would prevent Iran from retaliating with a direct attack on Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters.
Iran has vowed a strong response to Haniyeh's murder, which happened while he was in Tehran late last month, and which it blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. The US Navy has deployed warships and a submarine to the Middle East to bolster Israel's defenses.
One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said Iran, along with allies such as Hezbollah, would launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or if it deems that Israel is stalling the talks. The sources did not say how long Iran would wait for the talks to progress before responding.
Given the increased risk of a wider war in the Middle East following the killings of Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, Iran has been engaged in intense dialogue with Western countries and the US in recent days on ways to calibrate retaliation, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. due to the sensitivity of the topic.
In comments released on Tuesday, the US ambassador to Turkey confirmed that Washington is asking allies to help persuade Iran to reduce tensions. Three regional government sources described the talks with Tehran as a way to avoid escalation ahead of Gaza ceasefire talks, which are due to start on Thursday in either Egypt or Qatar.
"We hope that our response will be timed and carried out in a way that will not jeopardize a potential ceasefire," Iran's UN mission said on Friday. Iran's foreign ministry said today that calls for restraint "contrary to the principles of international law."
Iran, two sources said, is considering sending representatives to the ceasefire talks, which would be the first such case since the war in Gaza began.
The representative would not attend the meetings directly, but would participate in behind-the-scenes talks "to maintain diplomatic communication" with the US while negotiations are ongoing. Officials in Washington, Qatar and Egypt did not immediately respond to questions about whether Iran would play an indirect role in the talks.
Two senior sources close to Lebanon's Hezbollah said Tehran would give talks a chance but would not give up its intention to retaliate.
A ceasefire in Gaza would give Iran cover for a smaller "symbolic" response, one of the sources said.
"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement (France, Germany and Great Britain) brazenly demands that Iran not respond to the violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanani, reports Guardian.
Kanani stressed that Tehran is determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin and London to "finally take a stand against the war in Gaza and Israel's warmongering policies."
"The inactivity of the UN Security Council and the broad political and military support of Western governments to the Zionist regime are the main factors behind the regional spread of the Gaza crisis," he added.
Israeli forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man during dawn raids on Tuesday in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al Bireh, hospital sources said, as violence in the occupied territory continued to simmer.
The Israeli military could not immediately confirm the information provided by doctors at the Palestinian Medical Complex in Ramallah.
Violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was already on the rise before the Gaza war broke out, but has since intensified, with increased Israeli military raids, settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.
Israeli forces have killed at least 620 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the calls by France, Germany and Great Britain to Israel "lack political logic and are contrary to the principles of international law."
The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacking Israel after the assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, which the US and EU consider a terrorist organization.
Tehran and its allies Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah have accused Israel of killing Haniyeh. The Israeli government has not claimed responsibility.
"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement brazenly demands that Iran not respond to the violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.
Kanani said Tehran was determined to deter Israel from further attacks and called on Paris, Berlin and London to "stand up once and for all against the war in Gaza and Israel's warmongering".
The United States said on Monday it agreed with intelligence assessments that Iran or its allies in the Middle East could "attack Israel as soon as this week" and called on Tehran to "desist" from its constant threats to Israel.
US national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that President Joe Biden had spoken with leaders of key allies to discuss the situation and said Washington was taking seriously reports that Iran could soon attack Israel in retaliation for Haniyeh's killing.
The leaders of France, Germany and Great Britain on Monday called for the continuation of ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip without further delay and warned Iran and its allies not to cause "further escalation" of the conflict in the Middle East.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran and its allies to "refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions and threaten the possibility of an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages".
In separate phone calls, Scholz and Starmer called on Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian to avoid escalating military tensions in the region, their offices said.
After the conversation with Solca, as reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Pezeshkiyan said that Iran, "although it welcomes the expansion of interactions with all countries and emphasizes the need to solve problems through negotiations, will not give in under pressure, sanctions, bullying and aggression".
(Radio Free Europe)
The United States of America (USA) said it agreed with intelligence assessments that Iran or its allies in the Middle East could attack Israel as early as this week and called on Tehran to desist from its constant threats to Israel.
US national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that US President Joe Biden had spoken with leaders of key allies to discuss the situation and said Washington was taking seriously reports that Iran could soon attack Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail. Hanija.
Iran blames Israel for Haniyeh's killing and has vowed revenge, sparking fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
"We have to be ready for what could be a significant set of attacks, which is why, again, we have increased the capacities of our forces in the region, even in the last few days," Kirby said, Radio Free Europe reports.
He stated that they have significant forces in the region.
"We changed something in that position in the last few days. The president is confident that we have the capabilities available to help defend Israel," Kirby added.
The Pentagon has beefed up its forces in the Middle East amid rising tensions as Washington reiterated support for its longtime ally Israel.
The White House, in a joint statement with France, Italy, Germany and Great Britain, said they expressed support for Israel's defense against Iranian aggression and attacks by Iranian-backed terrorist groups.
"We called on Iran to abandon its constant threats of a military attack on Israel, and we discussed the serious consequences for regional security if such an attack were to occur," the statement added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in separate phone conversations called on Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian to avoid an escalation of military tensions in the region, their offices said.
Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran.
After the conversation with Solca, as reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Pezeshkiyan said that Iran, although it welcomes the expansion of interactions with all countries and emphasizes the need to solve problems through negotiations, will not give in under pressure, sanctions, bullying and aggression.
Instead, he added, he believes he has the right to respond to aggressors based on international rules.
The joint statement of the Western countries also stated that they expressed full support for the ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions and reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
It also expressed support for the joint call by Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Sheikh Amir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to resume negotiations later this week with the aim of concluding the agreement as soon as possible and emphasized that there is no more time to lose .
"All parties must fulfill their obligations. In addition, the unhindered delivery and distribution of aid (in the Gaza Strip) is required," the statement said.
In the Israeli air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas health officials, more than 38,9 people were killed.
Israel launched the action after Hamas extremists invaded the south of Israel on October 7 and, according to Israeli data, killed about 1,2 thousand people and took more than 250 people hostage.
(MINE)
Bonus video:
