al jazeera

By Lyndal Rowlands and Zaid Sabah

    Iran has promised to avenge the killings of its security chief, Ali Larijani, and Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani after Israel said it carried out both assassinations.

    Iran launches more strikes on central Israel, with at least two people killed in Ramat Gan and extensive property damage across central parts of the country.

    Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates report intercepting missiles and drones as Iranian attacks across the Gulf continue.

    US President Donald Trump rails against NATO countries for refusing to send their navies to the Strait of Hormuz, as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigns over the war on Iran.

    Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.

What are the Palestinian refugee camps Israel has ordered to flee

•     Israel has ordered people to flee the area surrounding the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, including from three long-established Palestinian refugee camps.
•     Lebanon is home to around 200,000 Palestinian refugees, including people who fled the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 Naksa, as well as their descendants.
•     The camps Israel has ordered to flee include Rashidieh, which was home to some 36,595 Palestinian refugees as of December 2023, according to UNRWA.
• Refugees living in Rashidieh come from Deir al-Qassi, Alma, an-Naher, Um el- Faraj,
•     Sohmata, Nahef, Kuwekat, and Fara, in Palestine, according to UNRWA.
•     Burj Shemali is located three kilometres from Tyre and is now densely populated with apartment buildings but was initially created as a tent shelter in 1948 for refugees arriving from Hawla, Tiberias, Saffouriyah and Lubieh in Palestine, according to UNRWA.
•     El-Buss is located 1.5 km south of Tyre next to the main Roman ruins in the city and in recent years has also hosted Palestinian refugees fleeing violence in Syria, according to UNRWA.

Loud explosion as Israeli forces bomb central Beirut

    Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces have attacked a building in the Bachoura neighbourhood of Beirut.

    The Reuters news agency reported a “loud explosion” in the area following the attack.

    The raid happened moments after the Israeli military issued a forced evacuation order for the neighbourhood.

    Earlier, we reported that at least six people were killed and 24 wounded in Israeli attacks on three apartment buildings in Zuqaq al-Blat and Al-Basta areas of central Beirut.

Netanyahu trying to cast himself as Iran’s ‘liberator’

By Rory Challands

    Dismantling Iran’s security leadership, one figure at a time.

    That’s what the Israelis believe they are doing, and they think that these [the killings of Larijani and Soleimani] are the most significant strikes against that leadership since they took out the supreme leader on the first day of the conflict back on February 28th, and they’re probably right in that assessment.

    Now, the two targets here – Larijani and Soleimani – are being painted with slightly different brushes. Larijani is being described by Netanyahu as a gangster boss running Iran, whereas Soleimani is being portrayed as a tyrant and a crusher of Iranian dissent, and that this kill is essentially a blow against Iran’s oppressive regime.

    Despite Larijani probably being the more important of these two men, the Israelis seem to be concentrating a bit more on Soleimani, and that’s because he fits more into the narrative that Netanyahu is trying to sell here. He’s trying to convince Iranians that he is on their side, that he is a liberator for their country and that he is setting the conditions for them to rise and overthrow the Ayatollahs.

    Now, as to whether they will do that is too soon to say, but it’s worth pointing out that the Israelis have killed numerous civilians in Iran over the last few weeks with the ongoing air strikes.

Qatar’s armed forces intercept missile attack

    The Ministry of Defense says its armed forces have intercepted a missile attack that targeted the country.

    The statement comes as countries across the Gulf reported intercepting drones and missiles.

Kuwait intercepts 7 drones

    The Kuwait National Guard said it shot down the unmanned aircraft at dawn today.

    The statement came hours after the Kuwaiti army said it was intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also reported intercepting missiles and drones in recent hours.

Israeli military launching ‘wave of strikes’ on southern Lebanon

    The Israeli military says it “has begun a wave of strikes” on southern Lebanon, a few hours after ordering the residents of the city of Tyre and its Palestinian refugee camps to flee.

    The military claimed it was responding to “rocket fire toward Israeli territory” from Hezbollah.

Explosions in central Israel as Iran launches more missiles

    The Channel 12 broadcaster is reporting the sound of explosions in the Gush Dan area in central Israel after the Israeli military sent out an alert about incoming missile fire from Iran.

    The outlet said at least one missile was intercepted, while some bombs from a fragmenting warhead made impact.

    It added that there are reports of damaged vehicles in the city of Holon, with some of them on fire.