Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at Israel in "initial response" to killing of senior Hamas figure
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says it fired a total of 62 rockets at an Israeli observation post along the Israel-Lebanon border on Saturday as an "initial response" to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut earlier this week.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters launched an attack shortly after 8am local time (1aET) on the Meron Air Surveillance Base in northern Israel as an "initial response" to the killing of Saleh Al-Arouri in southern Beirut on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that "approximately 40 launches” from Lebanon toward the area of Meron in northern Israel were identified after sirens sounded in northern Israel on Saturday.
Red alerts - warning of potential incoming rocket fire including where intercept shrapnel may fall - were issued for over 100 locations in northern Israel on Saturday morning.
The Israeli military then struck the Hezbollah fighters who "took part in the launches," the statement added.
Israel attacks southern Lebanon
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that the Israeli army hit the Qalia Plain, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre.
Earlier, we reported that Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Maroun air control base on Jabal al-Jarmak in Israel with 62 missiles of various types, and inflicted direct and confirmed hits.
In response, Israel has been carrying out raids inside Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah attacks Israel in latest exchange of fire across Lebanese border
The group says in a statement via Telegram that at 4:40pm local time (14:40 GMT), it fired on a group of Israeli soldiers in Avivim and achieved a direct hit.
Iran faces "all-out battle" with an "enemy" as the West vows to tackle Houthi rebel attacks, commander says
Iran is facing an "all-out battle" with an "enemy" actor, a top Iranian commander said, as Western nations vow to tackle the recent slew of attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
"We need to defend our national interests to wherever they extend […] It will be harmful for the enemy to be found near and at a half distant. They should stay away from this area," Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Saturday at a ceremony unveiling a new navy ship in the coastal Gulf city of Bandar Abbas, Reuters reported.
Salami did not name the enemy during the televised speech, according to Reuters.
On January 2, the Iranian Navy dispatched a military destroyer to the Red Sea as tensions in the waterway soared. Although Iran did not officially provide a reason for the deployment, state affiliated Tasnim News Agency said the destroyer was dispatched as part of a series of vessels taking part “in regular missions in international waters.”
This comes as the UK-based maritime security group, Ambrey Analytics, said in an alert Saturday that it received a report of "a maritime security event in the Bab al Mandab area" in the Red Sea. “Crews are advised to minimize deck movements and only essential crew should be on the bridge,” it said.
This is just one of several similar events to take place in the Red Sea in recent weeks. The Houthi rebels, considered to be one of Iran's proxies, have launched several attacks against commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea in what the group have called a revenge campaign against Israel's war in Gaza.
A coalition of 11 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, condemned the "illegal" and "profoundly destabilizing" attacks in a joint statement Wednesday. The coalition outlined their serious intention to "hold malign actors accountable" for "unlawful seizures and attacks."
The UK's finance minister underlined the severity of the situation during an interview with BBC Radio 4 Saturday, acknowledging that attacks "may have an impact" on prices in the country. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the UK and its partners have made it "very clear to the Houthis" that the rebel group's actions in the Red Sea will bear "consequences." "We will not just sit back and accept that because it’s so vital for global trade," Hunt warned.
Pro-Palestine protesters block bridge outside of UK Parliament
A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators has blocked access to a bridge near the British Parliament, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in an act of civil disobedience.
Police clashed with protesters, who blocked roads after they were prevented from marching across Westminster Bridge in London, where they had planned to unfurl banners.
