- Hamas says its political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli missile attack in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
- The strike drew threats of revenge and stoked further fears of a wider escalation in Israel’s war on Gaza.
- Hezbollah has confirmed the death of its military commander Fouad Shukr, targeted by Israel yesterday in a strike on Beirut.
- Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and camera operator Rami al-Refee have been killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza.
- At least 39,445 people have been killed and 91,073 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.
- 8m ago(21:30 GMT)
UK resolute in support to Israel and its ‘right to defend itself’
Barbara Woodward, UK ambassador to the UN, has told the UNSC that the UK is resolute in its support for Israel and its “right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law”.
Woodward cited the drone strike by Yemen’s Houthi group on Tel Aviv earlier this month and the rocket attack on Majdal Shams on Sunday as evidence of Iran’s destabilising action.
“We have repeatedly been clear in this council of Iran’s role in destabilising the region through its use of proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis. This must cease,” the UK ambassador said.
“The attempt of Iran and its proxies to use the war in Gaza as justification for further violence is perverse, and we reject it entirely.”
- 18m ago(21:20 GMT)
WATCH: Al Jazeera correspondent, cameraman killed in Gaza
A reminder that earlier today, Israeli strikes targeted and killed Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and his camera operator Rami al-Refee in Gaza City.
Video Duration 04 minutes 10 seconds04:10Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman killed in Gaza - 28m ago(21:10 GMT)
US ‘not aware or involved in’ killing of Haniyeh
Wood, who is addressing the UN Security Council on behalf of the US, says Washington was “not aware of or involved in the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh”.
“We have no independent confirmation as to Hamas’s claims regarding his death,” the US official said. “It is best not to speculate on the impact that these events will have. A broader war is neither imminent or inevitable.”
Wood urged the UNSC to pressure Iran to stop escalating its attacks on Israel through its proxies, as well as arming and financing “terrorist groups”.
- 38m ago(21:00 GMT)
US calls on UNSC to stand with Israel
Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the UN, has taken the floor at the Security Council.
The US has again blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack on a football field in Majdal Shams on Sunday, despite the Lebanese group having denied responsibility.
“We call on the Security Council to send an unambiguous message to Hezbollah by standing with Israel as it defends itself against Hezbollah’s repeated attacks,” Wood said.
He added that other Iranian-backed groups have been conducting “brazen attacks” that endanger regional peace.
If Iran does not abide by UNSC resolutions, then the body must consider taking additional measures to “hold Iran accountable and address repeated action by its terrorist proxies”, he said.
- 58m ago(20:40 GMT)
Tunisians protest assassination of Haniyeh
Hundreds of people gathered in Tunis to protest Haniyeh’s assassination.
The demonstrators, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans, expressed their outrage at what they viewed as a targeted attack by Israel in Tehran.
The assassination took place less than 24 hours after Israel said it killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Demonstrators carry pictures of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran, during a protest in Tunis, Tunisia July 31, 2024 [Jihed Abidellaoui/Reuters] - 1h ago(20:30 GMT)
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed with the latest developments:
- Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
- Hezbollah confirmed its top commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut.
- An Al Jazeera journalist and a camera operator killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza. Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi – both 27 – were killed in Shati refugee camp in an Israeli strike on their vehicle.
- Several countries, including Germany and the US, have urged their citizens to either leave Lebanon or not to visit at all at this time.
- Protests have erupted in the occupied West Bank, Tunisia and Turkey to condemn Haniyeh’s killing.
- Yemen’s Houthis have said that Israel should expect a “wave of retaliation” following Haniyeh’s assassination.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced strikes on Beirut and Tehran as a “dangerous escalation”.
- 1h ago(20:19 GMT)
UN Security Council emergency meeting over Hamas chief killing begins
UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo is giving the opening remarks at the emergency meeting over the killing of Hamas chief in Tehran.
DiCarlo said a path to de-escalation is needed at this dangerous time.
“The international community must work together to avoid any action that will make the conflict much bigger and wider very quickly,” she said.
“We need swift diplomatic efforts towards de-escalation [and] the Security Council plays a crucial role in this regard.”
- protected by reCAPTCHA
Sign up for Al Jazeera
Weekly Newsletter
- 1h ago(20:15 GMT)
Qatar, Egypt question future of Gaza talks after Haniyeh’s killing
Qatar and Egypt, key players in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, have questioned the future of negotiations following the assassination of Haniyeh.
“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatar’s PM wrote on X.
“Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.”
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a “dangerous Israeli escalation policy” over the past two days had undermined efforts to broker an end to the fighting in Gaza where almost 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October last year.
Read our story here.
- 1h ago(20:05 GMT)
Pro-Palestine demonstrations take place in Istanbul
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have marched through the streets of Istanbul after Haniyeh’s killing.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran earlier today.
Turkey condemned the assassination, saying the attack aimed to spread the Israeli war in Gaza on a regional level.
“It has been revealed once again that the government of Netanyahu has no intention of achieving peace,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Although the strike on Haniyeh was widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, Israel made no claim of responsibility and said it would make no comment on the killing.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Istanbul, Turkey, protest the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, July 31, 2024 [Dilara Senkaya/Reuters] - 1h ago(19:50 GMT)
Germany calls for restraint, asks citizens to leave Lebanon
The German foreign ministry has called for restraint, urging all parties and “especially Iran” to “de-escalate for the sake of the people in the region.”
“In this tense situation, any decision can either ease tensions or escalate the conflict,” it said in a statement on X.
While condemning the attacks perpetrated by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the “terrorist organisation Hamas,” which “carries out countless cruel attacks on Israel”, it made no mention of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza or negotiations for a ceasefire.
The office also said that “given the circumstances” it was once again appealing to all of its citizens to leave Lebanon “while it is still possible”.
- 1h ago(19:40 GMT)
Protests in the occupied West Bank after Haniyeh assassination
Reporting from Ramallah, occupied West Bank
A protest has been going on in downtown Ramallah condemning the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, and similar demonstrations have been going on across the West Bank, bringing life to a halt amid a general strike.
We’ve been hearing calls during these protests for Palestinian unity, this is a demand we’ve been hearing again and again as people want the leadership to come together and bring divisions between Fatah and Hamas to an end.
They’ve been reading the news of a “national unity” agreement with apathy and they want to see action being taken and the deal implemented.US support ‘means Israeli government can do whatever it wants’
Al Jazeera's senior political analyst
We have had two assassinations of senior leaders within 48 hours and in addition to the killing of two journalists, and for some reason, [White House National Security Adviser Kirby] is not prepared for the press conference. He’s telling us that it’s complicated and for us not to worry because things can still happen if the parties can hash out the details.
If the Israeli minister of defense and the Israeli minister of security were assassinated, would he be saying the same thing? It’s not serious to be approaching the way Israel is escalating not only the war in Gaza, but also in Lebanon, by saying things like, “Don’t worry, there’s still a chance for a ceasefire, it’s not a problem.”
We can see that Israel is using America’s complicity in order to expand the war. As we’ve heard from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin out of the Philippines, saying, “We will continue to defend Israel.” That sends a message to the Netanyahu government that you can kill leaders, you can escalate the war, you can kill journalists, you can invade countries, and, we, the US, will still come to your defence. It means the Israeli government can do whatever it wants.
- 2h ago(19:20 GMT)
Qatari PM, Iran’s acting foreign minister discuss Haniyeh’s assassination
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Than discussed in a phone call with acting Iranian Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani the repercussions of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, Qatar’s state news agency reports.
Translation: The prime minister and minister of foreign affairs receives a phone call from the Iranian acting foreign minister.
- 2h ago(19:10 GMT)
White House assessment downplays risk of escalation
Commenting on the statements made by the White House, Glenn Carle, a former US deputy national intelligence officer, said he believed the assessment made by adviser John Kirby to be downplaying the risk of a regional escalation.
Carle said the US may not be picking up from the intelligence and diplomatic community any plans to retaliate on Israeli targets at present.
“This I think it’s true for the moment,” Carle said. “All parties – Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Israel – continue to wish to avoid an expansion of the war in Gaza, but Kirby didn’t address what I think is most likely, which is that they are obliged to respond,” he said.
Carle also said the US may well not have had prior knowledge of the assassination of Haniyeh that took place in Tehran. “Intelligence services interact among them, but Israel would never tell an ally, no matter how close, about a planned assassination,” he said.
- 2h ago(18:50 GMT)
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah to give address on Thursday
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) is reporting that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will give an address on Thursday, on the occasion of the funeral of group leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Hezbollah earlier confirmed the death of Shukr in an air strike yesterday on the Haret Hreik neighbourhood, which killed at least five people and injured dozens.
- 2h ago(18:40 GMT)
US: ‘Do not travel’ to Lebanon
The United States is urging its citizens not to travel to Lebanon, citing rising tensions between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.
The US State Department raised its travel advisory to Lebanon to level four, which says “Do Not Travel.”
- 3h ago(18:30 GMT)
US seeking additional information on killing of Al Jazeera staff in Gaza
The US State Department says it has asked counterparts in the region for additional information on the killing of Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza.
Speaking at a news conference, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not believe that the assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas commanders in Beirut and Tehran would lead Iran-backed militias to step up attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria, as they have in the past.
“I think, quite frankly, I don’t see a return to where we were several months ago, not yet,” Austin told reporters as he departed the Philippines.
Asked if the recent attacks on US forces were connected to rising tensions between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel, Austin said, “I think it’s all connected.”
- 3h ago(18:25 GMT)
White House says no sign escalation in Middle East is imminent
White House adviser John Kirby has been speaking to the press. Here are the main points he made:
- The White House is not in a position to confirm the events in Tehran and whether the killing of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh was Israel’s doing. I can state that I had no conversations around that reporting that I can speak of today.
- Achieving a deal in Gaza has always been a complicated process. It’s too soon to know what any of these reported events could mean, but we’re not going to stop working on it.
- We don’t believe that an escalation in the Middle East is inevitable, and there’s no signs that an escalation is imminent. This is something that has been a concern all along since October 7.
- The president was briefed on the reports of the events in the Middle East but I’m not going to comment on the exact timing.
- 3h ago(18:20 GMT)
Hamas senior official says Haniyeh was hit ‘directly’ by missile
We reported earlier that Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya praised Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran, “gave up his life for religion and country”.
Al-Hayya also said the missile that killed Haniyeh struck him “directly”. As a result of the missile strike, windows, doors and walls in his room were destroyed.
Speaking at a news conference in Tehran, he said that Lebanon and Iran “will never leave this unanswered”.
He said Israel was seeking to “burn the entire region … because they’ve failed to achieve their goals.”
“The Israelis don’t want a deal, they just want to continue their aggression despite all the failure,” al-Hayya added.
- 3h ago(18:10 GMT)
‘No point too far for us to attack’: Israeli Air Force commander
Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar has said dozens of aircrafts are “prepared and ready in a matter of minutes, for any scenario, in any arena,” as tensions rise with Lebanon and Iran.
Bar said Israel was in the middle of “the longest war in our history since the War of Independence” and that the killings of a Hezbollah and a Hamas official in Beirut and Tehran had been a “message”.
“This is another message to our enemy in the entire Middle East – we will act against anyone who plans to harm the citizens of the State of Israel, there is no point that is too far for us to attack,” he said in a statement.
- 3h ago(18:00 GMT)
US media org on Al Jazeera journalists: ‘Important and brave voices now silenced’
Emily Wilkins, who heads the National Press Club, based in Washington, DC, has said that Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi had been working under difficult conditions for months “to bring the world important news out of Gaza. They worked through illness from lack of food and water, and braved many dangers to keep reporting.”
“Today the odds and an air strike caught up with them. Their important and brave voices have now been silenced. Our hearts go out to their families and colleagues at Al Jazeera,” Wilkins said in a statement.
She also said that journalists are non-combatants in any conflict and that every necessary caution must be taken to keep them from being harmed.
“Al-Ghoul was on the air on Al Jazeera nearly every day. It was well known where he was, what he was doing and that he worked for Al Jazeera. While working, he wore a vest and helmet marked PRESS. More than one hundred Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel October 7.”
- 3h ago(17:50 GMT)
UN chief says strikes on Beirut and Tehran mark ‘dangerous escalation’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced strikes on Beirut and Tehran as a “dangerous escalation,” after Israel targeted a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas said its political chief was killed in Iran.
“The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Tehran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza”, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The UN’s Security Council will meet later tonight, at 20:00 GMT.
- 3h ago(17:40 GMT)
‘Israel will exact heavy price for any aggression towards it’: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister has said that Israel faces “challenging times ahead” but that it is “prepared for all scenarios”.
This comes following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut, and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was on an official visit to Tehran.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said, “Citizens of Israel, challenging days lie ahead. Since the strike in Beirut, there are threats sounding from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.”
Netanyahu also said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies over the past few days, including Hamas and Hezbollah. But he did not mention Haniyeh’s killing, which has drawn threats of retaliation.
- 4h ago(17:35 GMT)
Hezbollah confirms death of commander targeted by Israel in Beirut
In an official statement on its Telegram channel, the Lebanese political party and paramilitary group has confirmed the death of Fuad Shukr, a senior military figure in its organisation.
Shukr was targeted by Israel yesterday in an air strike on Beirut’s Haret Hreik neighbourhood, which killed at least five people and injured dozens.
Israel blames Shukr for an attack on the occupied Golan Heights over the weekend that killed 12 children and teenagers, and said his targeting was in response to this attack.
- 4h ago(17:30 GMT)
Shock, anger: Palestinians in Gaza react to Haniyeh’s assassination
Deir el-Balah, Gaza – Palestinians living in displacement camps in the central Gaza Strip expressed sadness and despair after the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
“Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian leader, not just a Hamas leader. His loss is immense for us,” Saleh al-Shannat, 67, told Al Jazeera.
Through his work on a mediation committee that resolves local disputes, al-Shannat met and knew Haniyeh. “I knew him personally. He never turned away questions and always sought to serve the people and their interests.”
Read the full story here.
- 4h ago(17:20 GMT)
EU calls for ‘maximum restraint’ after Hamas chief killing
The European Union has urged all sides to avoid escalation after Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh had been killed by an Israeli strike on Iran’s capital.
“We call on all parties to exert maximum restraint and avoid any further escalation,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano said. “No country and no nation stand to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”
- 4h ago(17:10 GMT)
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over Hamas chief killing
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later today after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an air strike on Iran’s capital, the Russian presidency of the council has said.
The meeting, requested by Iran and supported by representatives of Russia, China and Algeria, is scheduled for 20:00 GMT, said a spokesperson for the Russian presidency, which holds the rotating leadership of the council.
No comments:
Post a Comment