CAIRO: Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps in the center of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said.
One Israeli airstrike killed six people in Zawayda town in central Gaza and two other people were killed in a strike on a house in Bureij camp. An Israeli air strike killed three people in a car in Deir Al-Balah, a city packed with people displaced from elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said.
In Gaza City in the north, medics said two Palestinians were killed in another airstrike.
The Israeli military said in a statement its forces killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders in two airstrikes in Gaza City, including one whom it said had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
In Rafah, residents said Israeli tanks advanced deeper in the western side of the city and took position on a hilltop there. The Israeli military said forces located several tunnels and killed several gunmen.
The armed wing of militant group Hamas and its allies said they fired mortar bombs at Israeli forces in southwest Rafah on Thursday.
More than a million people had sought shelter in Rafah from fighting further north, but most have scattered again since Israel launched an offensive in and around the city in May.
The fighting has pushed the 60-bed Red Cross field hospital in Rafah to the brink of capacity, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on Thursday.
“The repeated mass casualty events resulting from the unrelenting hostilities have stretched to breaking point the response capacity of our hospital – and all health facilities in southern Gaza – to care for those with life-threatening injuries,” said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC’s subdelegation in Gaza.
CEASEFIRE EFFORTS STALLED
More than nine months into the war, Palestinian fighters led by Hamas are still able to attack Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs, occasionally firing rocket barrages into Israel.
Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities say.
On Tuesday, Israel said it had eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas’ military wing and killed or captured about 14,000 fighters since the start of the war. Israel says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.
Hamas doesn’t release figures of casualties among its ranks and said Israel was exaggerating to portray a “fake victory.”
Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators to halt the hostilities, backed by the United States, appear on hold, though all sides say they are open to more talks, including Israel and Hamas.
A deal would aim to end the war and release Israeli hostages in Gaza in return for many Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Hamas was awaiting an Israeli response to a ceasefire offer drafted by the United States based on ideas announced by President Joe Biden, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said.
“The feeling in Hamas is that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is stalling and that he might not say anything before he goes to the United States next week,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
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Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
- One Israeli airstrike kills six people in Zawayda town in central Gaza
- An Israeli airstrike killed three people in a car in Deir Al-Balah
Iran says nuclear talks with US ‘meaningless’ after Israel attack
- "You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” says Iran's foreign ministry spokesman
CAIRO: Iran said on Friday the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
‘Enough escalation. Time to stop,’ UN chief says after Israel-Iran strikes
- Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel’s “preemptive” strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counter-attack
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN chief called Friday for Israel and Iran to halt their escalating conflict, after the two countries exchanged a barrage of missiles.
“Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel’s “preemptive” strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counter-attack.
At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes
- Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked
UNITED NATIONS: Iran accused the United States of being complicit in Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic, which Washington denied, telling Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would "be wise" to negotiate over its nuclear programme. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel late on Friday after Israel attacked Iran earlier in the day.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had been "preparing for war" and Israel's strikes were "an act of national preservation." His Iranian counterpart, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of seeking "to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict," and he said Washington's complicity was "beyond doubt". "Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit," Iravani told the Security Council. "By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences."
HIGHLIGHTS
• UN Security Council met over Israel's strikes on Iran
• US says Iran would 'be wise' to negotiate on nuclear program
• Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israel's strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired on Thursday, to make a deal over its escalating uranium enrichment program. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks had been scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead. Danon said Israel had been patient despite mounting risks.
"We waited for diplomacy to work ... We watched negotiations stretch on, as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions," Danon told the Security Council. He said intelligence had confirmed Iran could have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs within days.
Senior U.S. official McCoy Pitt said the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East. "Iran's leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time," Pitt told the council. While Washington was informed of Israel's initial strikes ahead of time it was not militarily involved, he said. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked.
US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles
- US also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes
- About 40,000 troops are in the Mideast region now, according to a US official
WASHINGTON: American air defense systems and Navy assets in the Middle East helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and top military leaders, US officials said.
The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the region capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel’s initial attack.
Naval assets also were involved in assisting Israel as Iran fired missiles at Tel Aviv, one official said. It was not immediately clear if ships fired interceptors or if their advanced missile tracking systems helped Israel identify incoming targets.
The United States also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes.
The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, US officials said.
American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public or to discuss ongoing operations.
President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss options.
The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.
Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a US official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region.
The carrier USS Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the USS George Washington just left its port in Japan and could also be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said.
Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time.
On Oct. 1, 2024, US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
Iran’s top military commanders, 6 nuclear scientists among 78 killed in Israeli strikes
- Khamenei, Revolutionary Guards warn Israel of “harsh punishment” for its attacks
- Dead scientists identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
RIYADH: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei confirmed on Friday that several military commanders and scientists were “martyred” in Israeli strikes on Tehran.
In a statement carried on state television, Khamenei warned that Israel will not go unpunished for its attacks.
“We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” Khamenei said in a recorded message.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”
Iran’s UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Israeli attacks.
Among those killed were four of Iran’s top military leaders.
State television and local media identified them as General Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Major General Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC; Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters; and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
Iran’s Nournews reported that Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Khamenei, was “critically injured.”
Local media confirmed that six scientists working on Iran’s nuclear program were killed, four of them identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranch, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, and Amirhossein Feqhi.
New appointments
Immediately after the strike, Khomenei appointed Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, as the new chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. Mousavi, the army commander since 2017, replaced Bagheri
Replacing Mousavi as army chief was Brigadier General Amir Hatami, who was promoted to the rank of major general.
Major General Mohammad Pakpour was appointed as the new IRGC chief, replacing “martyred” Salami.
Appointed as new commander of Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, replacing Ali Rashid, was Brigadier General Ali Shadmani. He was promoted to the rank of major general.
The Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters is a subdivision of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces that is tasked with the layout and arrangement of operations involving various Iranian military units.
As General Pakpour assumed his new post, he warned the Israeli regime to brace for a painful fate.
“The criminal and illegitimate Zionist regime will suffer a bitter and painful fate with huge and destructive consequences,” Iran’s Tasnim News agency quoted Pakpour as saying in a letter to Supreme Leader Khamenei.
With the help of God, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime, he wrote.
Below is a list of the commanders and scientists killed:
Mohammad Bagheri
A former IRGC commander, Major General Bagheri was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces from 2016. Born in 1960, Bagheri joined the Guards during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
Hossein Salami
Salami was commander-in-chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Salami, who was born in 1960, as head of the IRGC in 2019.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Hajizadeh was the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force. Israel has identified him as the central figure responsible for directing aerial attacks against its territory. In 2020, Hajizadeh took responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which occurred shortly after Iran launched missile strikes on US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani.
Gholamali Rashid
Major General Rashid was head of the IRGC’s Khatam al Anbia headquarters. He previously served as deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and fought for Iran during the 1980s war with Iraq.
Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani
Abbasi, a nuclear scientist, served as head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013. A hardliner, Abbasi was a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024.
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
Tehranchi, a nuclear scientist, was head of Iran’s Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, a nuclear engineering professor at Shahid Beheshti University.
Amirhossein Feqhi
Amirhossein Feqhi, another nuclear professor at Shahid Beheshti University.
