Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end

By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Reuters  The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against  Hamas , as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the  war  amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,”  Trump  posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. offi...

Iran launches missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq in response to strikes

Iranian state media has announced Iran has begun its “mighty and victorious” response to US strikes.

The state-run Tasnim agency says that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq. In the last few minutes, we’ve seen reports of explosions heard in Qatar.

Majed al-Ansari, official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes on X: “We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations charter.”

He says Qatar’s air defence systems “successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles” and the base had been evacuated earlier.

He adds: “All necessary steps were taken to ensure the safety of personnel at the base, including Qatari Armed Forces members, friendly forces, and others.

“We confirm that no injuries or human casualties resulted from the attack.”

The spokesperson says Qatar reserves the right to respond “in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression”.

By Andrew Mills, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell Reuters

 Iran’s military said on Monday it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes.

The diplomat spoke soon after Qatar announced it had closed its air space temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. Earlier, the U.S. embassy in Qatar had advised Americans to shelter in place, out of what it said was “an abundance of caution”.

Iran has issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on the country’s underground nuclear installations over the weekend, while President Donald Trump openly raised the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.

Earlier on Monday, Israel struck a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran’s ruling system.

Two U.S. officials said Washington assessed that Iran could carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, although the U.S. is still seeking a diplomatic resolution that would see Tehran forgo any reprisal.

Despite Iran’s threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices largely held steady , suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/UBoevMx

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