MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday said the situation in the Middle East was developing in an alarming direction and called on all sides to exercise restraint.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had contacts with all sides in the region and said Moscow condemned any action that caused the death of civilians.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that regular infantry and armored units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon, stepping up pressure on Hezbollah, as Israel prepared to retaliate against a barrage of Iranian missile strikes.
“This situation is developing according to the most alarming scenario,” Peskov said.
“We call for restraint by all sides against the backdrop of what is happening. And of course, we condemn any actions which lead to the deaths of civilians.”
Asked what Moscow would do next and whether it would support Iran in the event of Tehran entering a full-scale conflict with Israel, Peskov said:
“We have contacts with all sides in this conflict, we continue to have these contacts and call on all sides for restraint.”
Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel
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Kremlin calls for restraint in Middle East after Iranian attack on Israel
- Kremlin spokesman: Moscow condemns any action that caused the death of civilians
Daesh ambush kills four Iraqi soldiers near Kirkuk
- Remnants switched to hit-and-run attacks on government forces in different areas of Iraq
BAGHDAD: Four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three injured on Wednesday in an ambush by Daesh militants on an army convoy near the northern oil city of Kirkuk, a military statement said.
The ambush took place in a rural area southwest of Kirkuk that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the jihadist group in 2017.
After the defeat of Daesh as a force able to hold swathes of territory, remnants switched to hit-and-run attacks on government forces in different areas of Iraq.
Two military officials said security forces were heading to the area around 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Kirkuk to arrest a suspected militant when they came under sniper and automatic weapons fire.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military statement blamed it on Daesh militants.
200 British citizens to be evacuated from Beirut on Wednesday, but many more will be left behind
- While the government will pay to charter the flight, those wanting to get on it are expected to pay a fee of £350 ($465) per person
LONDON: Around 200 British citizens are to be evacuated from Beirut on a flight chartered by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Wednesday, The Times reported.
The evacuation comes after a sharp escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, coupled with Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.
It is understood that there is not enough room on the flight for everyone who has expressed an interest in leaving the country, meaning hundreds of eligible Brits could be left behind as the situation deteriorates.
The Foreign Office has not ruled out taking on more flights “while the airport stays open,” The Times said, citing a government source.
Although Israel has avoided targets that could contain foreign citizens fleeing Lebanon, British diplomats are nervous about the risks involved in a mission to fly UK citizens to safety. Areas within a few hundred meters of the airport have already been bombed.
People who wish to be evacuated on Wednesday’s flight are required to make their own way to the airport, and vulnerable British citizens and their spouses, partners, and children under 18 are being prioritized.
A Lebanese local explained that reaching the airport was risky: “The roads leading to the airport are dangerous because you never know where they (Israel) are going to bomb. You don’t know where the target is or even if someone they want to kill is on the road.”
In order to get to the airport, travelers would have to pass by places such as the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, the target of dozens of Israeli attacks in recent days and where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed on Friday, the local said.
While the government will pay to charter the flight, those wanting to get on it are expected to pay a fee of £350 ($465) per person.
Some of those returning on Wednesday have a place booked on flights leaving the country over the weekend, but they fear that it will be too late if they wait until then.
The Foreign Office is considering other ways to bring UK nationals to safety as there are no commercial flights out of the country available for the next few days. More aircraft could be chartered as a result.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the situation in Lebanon “is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly.
“That’s why the UK government is chartering a flight to help those wanting to leave. It is vital that you leave now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed,” he warned British citizens in the country.
Lebanon army says Israeli drone attack wounds soldier
- An army unit was working to open the Marjayoun-Hasbaya road
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said an Israeli drone wounded one of its soldiers Wednesday in an attack when the unit was working in the country’s south, as Israel battles militant group Hezbollah.
“A soldier was wounded due to an attack by an Israeli enemy drone as an army unit was working to open the Marjayoun-Hasbaya road,” the Lebanese army said on X.
Pride and fear in Iran after missile attack on Israel
- Analysts see the Iranian missile strike as a consequence of a string of setbacks suffered by Tehran
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to deliver a rare speech at Friday prayers this week
TEHRAN: On the streets of Tehran, a small crowd celebrated Iran’s missile attack on Israel while others are worried about the consequences of the Islamic Republic’s boldest move yet in a year of escalating Middle East conflict.
Local media carried footage of what Iran said were 200 missiles as they were fired toward Israel on Tuesday evening, while state television played upbeat music over the images and showed crowds of a few hundred people celebrating the attacks in the capital and other cities across the country.
Some carried the yellow flag of Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, as well as portraits of its chief Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israeli air strike last week.
Speaking at a gathering in Palestine Square in central Tehran late Tuesday, Hedyeh Gholizadeh, 29, said she felt “a sense of pride” by Iran’s retaliation, which analysts said reflected pressure on the country to react to a series of Israeli-inflicted humiliations.
“We are ready to accept all the consequences, whatever they may be, and we are ready to pay the penalty and we have no fear,” said Gholizadeh.
There was little sign of the previous evening’s celebrations on Wednesday morning in Tehran, with traffic humming along as usual while cafes and restaurants buzzed with customers.
Israel’s vow to avenge the missile attacks, backed by similar threats from the United States, has unsettled some people who fear the country stumbling into a full-blown war through tit-for-tat reactions.
“I am really worried because if Israel wants to take retaliatory measures, it will lead to an expansion of the war,” said Mansour Firouzabadi, a 45-year-old nurse in Tehran. “Everyone is worried about it.”
Analysts see the Iranian missile strike as a consequence of a string of setbacks suffered by Tehran and its strategy of building up allies across the region in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and the Palestinian territories.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah chief Nasrallah was killed alongside Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Abbas Nilforoushan, while Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on July 31.
Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said Iran took “a calculated risk in April” when it fired missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were intercepted, in its first ever direct attack.
The barrage was ordered after an Israeli air strike on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus which killed two Iranian generals.
“Now, with an even bolder move (on Tuesday), the regime’s actions reflect the deepening challenges it faces as its most critical partners have been weakened on multiple fronts,” Vaez said.
“Failing to respond might have further eroded its credibility with these allies, giving the impression that Tehran was content to remain passive,” he said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to deliver a rare speech at Friday prayers this week, according to local media, during which he is widely expected to set the tone for the way forward.
The last time Khamenei led Friday prayers was after Iran launched ballistic missiles on air bases of US forces in Iraq following the 2020 killing of revered Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Speaking at a gathering of Iranian students on Wednesday, Khamenei said he was still in mourning for Nasrallah and that his death was “not a small matter.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had refrained from responding to Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran during his inauguration in July, fearing that it could derail US-backed efforts for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
But the promises the United States and its allies of a “ceasefire in exchange for Iran’s non-reaction to Haniyeh’s killing were completely false,” he said on Sunday.
Israel’s military campaign continues there even as it steps up its war with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
Following Tuesday’s attack by Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tehran “made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it,” while the United States warned of “severe consequences.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett called on Wednesday for a decisive strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps meanwhile threatened a “crushing attack” if Israel responded, and warned against any direct military intervention in support of Israel.
Vaez from the International Crisis Group says while Tehran has signalled “the chapter is closed ... the reality is far from that.”
“The final word on this conflict lies, not with Iran, but with Israel and the United States,” he said.
“And if the latest developments in Gaza, Lebanon, and even Yemen’s Houthi movements are any indication, this confrontation is far from over.”
Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies
- The civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations are shocked at the destruction underway in Lebanon
- An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care
BEIRUT: When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.
About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies — including children’s — from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.
The children’s bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders’ inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.
An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care. Political divisions have left the country of 6 million without a president or functioning government for more than two years, deepening a national sense of abandonment reaching down to the men whom the people depend on in emergencies.
“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics,” Arkadan said. “We have no gloves, no personal protection gear.”
War has upended Lebanon again
Israel’s intensified air campaign against Hezbollah has upended the country. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Sept. 17, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, sleeping on beaches and streets.
The World Health Organization said over 30 primary health care centers around Lebanon’s affected areas have been closed.
On Tuesday, Israel said it began a limited ground operation against Hezbollah and warned people to evacuate several southern communities, promising further escalation.
Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, who said the UN had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.
Exhausted medical staff are struggling to cope with the daily influx of new patients. Under government emergency plans, hospitals and medical workers have halted non-urgent operations.
Government shelters are full
In the southern province of Tyre, many doctors have fled along with residents. In Nabatiyeh, the largest province in southern Lebanon, first responders say they have been working around the clock since last week to reach hundreds of people wounded in bombings that hit dozens of villages and towns, often many on the same day.
After the bombing in Sidon nearly 250 first responders joined Arkadan’s team, including a specialized search-and-rescue unit from Beirut, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) to the north. His team didn’t have the modern equipment needed to pull people from a disaster.
“We used traditional tools, like scissors, cables, shovels,” Arkadan said.
“Anyone here?” rescuers shouted through the gaps in mounds of rubble, searching for survivors buried deeper underground. One excavator removed the debris slowly, to avoid shaking the heaps of bricks and mangled steel.
Many sought refuge in the ancient city of Tyre, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Israel, thinking it was likely to be spared bombardment. More than 8,000 people arrived, said Hassan Dbouk, the head of its disaster management unit.
He said that there were no pre-positioned supplies, such as food parcels, hygiene kits and mattresses, and moving trucks now is fraught with danger. Farmers have been denied access to their land because of the bombings and the municipality is struggling to pay salaries.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic
Meanwhile, garbage is piling up on the streets. The number of municipal workers has shrunk from 160 to 10.
“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Dbouk said.
Wissam Ghazal, the health ministry official in Tyre, said in one hospital, only five of 35 doctors have remained. In Tyre province, eight medics, including three with a medical organization affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed over two days, he said.
Over the weekend, the city itself became a focus of attacks.
Israeli warplanes struck near the port city’s famed ruins, along its beaches and in residential and commercial areas, forcing thousands of residents to flee. At least 15 civilians were killed Saturday and Sunday, including two municipal workers, a soldier and several children, all but one from two families.
It took rescuers two days to comb through the rubble of a home in the Kharab neighborhood in the city’s center, where a bomb had killed nine members of the Al-Samra family.
Six premature babies in incubators around the city were moved to Beirut. The city’s only doctor, who looked after them, couldn’t move between hospitals under fire, Ghazal said.
One of the district’s four hospitals shut after sustaining damage from a strike that affected its electricity supply and damaged the operations room. In two other hospitals, glass windows were broken. For now, the city’s hospitals are receiving more killed than wounded.
“But you don’t know what will happen when the intensity of attacks increases. We will definitely need more.”
Making do with what they have
Hosein Faqih, head of civil defense in the Nabatiyeh province, said that “we are working in very difficult and critical circumstances because the strikes are random. We have no protection. We have no shields, no helmets, no extra hoses. The newest vehicle is 25 years old. We are still working despite all that.”
At least three of his firefighters’ team were killed in early September. Ten have been injured since then. Of 45 vehicles, six were hit and are now out of service.
Faqih said he is limiting his team’s search-and-rescue missions to residential areas, keeping them away from forests or open areas where they used to put out fires.
“These days, there is something difficult every day. Body parts are everywhere, children, civilians and bodies under rubble,” Faqih said. Still, he said, he considers his job to be the safety net for the people.
“We serve the people, and we will work with what we have.”
