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04-10-2024
TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON/ BEIRUT: Iran’s message sent to the US via Qatar seems to be a response to what US President Joe Biden said yesterday.
Biden said Israel has the right to retaliate for the recent Iranian strikes, unlike what happened in April when Iran targeted Israel and the White House cautioned Israel not to respond.
The Iranian message could be interpreted in one of two ways. It could mean, “We don’t want you to do anything, we’re trying to deter that,” or it could be a warning: “You take action and our response it going to be even bigger.”
Hezbollah says it has detonated a bomb against Israeli troops attempting to enter the village of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon as Israel launches new air raids on Beirut.
Source tells media Iran sent a message to the US via Qatar saying that it does not seek regional war but adding that “the phase of unilateral self-restraint has ended”. It also warned any Israeli attack would be met with an “unconventional response” that includes targeting Israeli infrastructure.
At least nine people have been killed and 14 wounded in Israeli air attacks targeting central Beirut as three missiles also hit the Lebanese capital’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh.
The Lebanese army says at least two soldiers have been killed in separate Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
Israel intensifies attacks on Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians in separate strikes over the past 48 hours.
In Gaza, at least 41,788 people have been killed and 96,794 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023. In Israel, at least 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 people were taken captive.
Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran attending a meeting of Asian nations hosted by Qatar have discussed de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, three sources told the Reuters news agency.
The Gulf Arab states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in the conflict on the back of concerns that a wider escalation in violence could threaten Gulf oil facilities, two of the sources said.
The Israeli military says it hit Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut amid a flurry of strikes targeting the group’s positions in the Lebanese capital.
Israeli fighter jets “struck targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut, including terror operatives belonging to the unit, intelligence-gathering means, command centres and additional terrorist infrastructure,” the military said in a statement.
Palestinians fear the crisis in Lebanon is diverting the world’s attention from Gaza where Israeli attacks killed dozens more this week and diminished already dim prospects for a ceasefire.
“The focus is on Lebanon, which means the war in Gaza isn’t ending anytime soon,” said Hussam Ali, 45, a Gaza City resident.
With attention swinging to Lebanon, the war on Gaza risks being prolonged, said Ashraf Abouelhoul, managing editor of state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram in Egypt.
“The most dangerous thing isn’t that the media attention is going elsewhere. It is the fact that no one in the world is now talking about a deal or a ceasefire, and that frees Israel’s hand to continue its military offensive and plans in Gaza.”
S&P Global Ratings says Israel’s military action in Lebanon “severely weakened” recovery prospects for Lebanon’s already fragile economy. (Int’l News Desk)
