
First repatriation flight bringing stranded Israelis home lands in Tel Aviv
The first flight carrying Israeli citizens stranded abroad due to the recent Israel - Iran conflict has landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on 18 Wednesday.
The flight originated from Larnaca, Cyprus, and brought home Israelis who were stuck due to the disruption in air travel.
Israel's transport ministry estimates that over 50,000 residents have been stranded abroad since the Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliatory attacks began on 13 Friday.
Israel had closed its airspace to civil aviation following the launch of Operation 'Rising Lion', which targeted Iran's nuclear programme and military leaders.
Watch the video in full above.
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Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The whole free world has an interest in derailing Iran's nuclear schemes
SIR – Allister Heath is correct in his condemnation of Sir Keir Starmer and Labour for their failings over Israel and Iran ('Trump and Netanyahu are saving the decadent West from its demons', Comment, June 19). I have been impressed by the Israelis' operations against Iran so far, and hope they will be supported to finish the job. Those who value Western freedom should be backing them, and Britain should be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with its allies. Yet Sir Keir, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and Lord Hermer, the Attorney General ('Hermer: War on Iran may be illegal', report, June 19), have proved an embarrassment. It is also worth remembering that the weakness of multiple European and American leaders allowed Iran to reach the point it is at now. Huw Bell Wetherby, West Yorkshire SIR – Has there ever been an occasion when Lord Hermer's interventions and advice have reflected what most of us consider to be the national interest? Bob Hart Newark, Nottinghamshire SIR – With our Government in the hands of international lawyers, our enemies may rest assured that we are more likely to prosecute our own soldiers than a war against them. Michael Staples Seaford, East Sussex SIR – Charles Moore (Comment, June 17) is absolutely right that we owe real debts to Ukraine and Israel. Ukraine deserves full-hearted support against the tyranny of Vladimir Putin, which menaces all of Europe. Israel has been on the front line fighting Islamist tyranny for almost 50 years. Western calls for 'de-escalation' in Israel's astonishing and understandable offensive against that tyranny are misplaced. Never forget that the Ayatollahs of Iran have spent almost five decades trying to murder the Jewish people of Israel. By contrast, the Israelis seek only to destroy Iran's genocidal regime, and hope then to live in peace with the Iranian people, as they did until the Islamists overthrew the Shah in 1979. William Shawcross London W2 SIR – After the G7, which Donald Trump left early, Britain and its European allies must realise they can no longer be sure of American support in the defence of Ukraine or their own borders. We've seen the vulnerability of Ukraine, Israel and Iran to attacks from the air, and have nothing like their air-defence capabilities. Arbitrary percentages of GDP, which include all manner of non-defence-related expenditure, are blatantly insufficient. Now is the time to cut the rhetoric and prepare adequately for the threats we know are out there. Gp Capt Ron Powell (retd) Barry, Glamorgan


Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
Iran, Israel launch new attacks after Tehran rules out nuclear talks
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early on Saturday, a day after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear programme while under threat and Europe tried to keep peace talks alive. Shortly after 2:30 a.m. in Israel (2330 GMT on Friday), the Israeli military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran, triggering air raid sirens across parts of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as well as in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Interceptions were visible in the sky over Tel Aviv, with explosions echoing across the metropolitan area as Israel's air defence systems responded. At the same time, Israel launched a new wave of attacks against missile storage and launch infrastructure sites in Iran, the Israeli military said. Sirens also sounded in southern Israel, said Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency service. An Israeli military official said Iran had fired five ballistic missiles and that there were no immediate indications of any missile impacts. There were no initial reports of casualties. The emergency service released images showing a fire on the roof of a multi-storey residential building in central Israel. Local media reported that the fire was caused by debris from an intercepted missile. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this. Its air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based human rights organisation that tracks Iran. The dead include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, according to authorities. Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures for either side. Iran has repeatedly targeted Tel Aviv, a metropolitan area of around 4 million people and the country's business and economic hub, where some critical military assets are also located. Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets on Friday, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was no room for negotiations with the U.S. "until Israeli aggression stops". But he arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with European foreign ministers at which Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated that he would take as long as two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel's side, enough time "to see whether or not people come to their senses", he said. Trump said he was unlikely to press Israel to scale back its airstrikes to allow negotiations to continue. "I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing, but we're ready, willing and able, and we've been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens," he said. The Geneva talks produced little signs of progress, and Trump said he doubted negotiators would be able to secure a ceasefire. "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one," Trump said. Hundreds of U.S. citizens have fled Iran since the air war began, according to a U.S. State Department cable seen by Reuters. Israel's envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told the Security Council on Friday his country would not stop its attacks "until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled". Iran's U.N. envoy Amir Saeid Iravani called for Security Council action and said Tehran was alarmed by reports that the U.S. might join the war. Russia and China demanded immediate de-escalation. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was ready to discuss limitations on uranium enrichment but that it would reject any proposal that barred it from enriching uranium completely, "especially now under Israel's strikes".


Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Fact Check: Clip shows 2015 China explosions, not 2025 Iranian attacks on Israel
Footage of two nighttime explosions in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin in 2015 has been falsely described by social media users as showing an Iranian strike on the port of Haifa, Israel, during aerial battles between the two regional rivals. Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has since retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel, and says its nuclear programme is peaceful. "BREAKING: The blast at Haifa Port is set to be remembered in history as one of Iran's most lethal and strategically devastating strikes," a June 14 X post, opens new tab with 1.6 million views captioned the 48-second clip, which shows a large fireball followed by two explosions. On the night of June 15 an Iranian missile barrage struck a residential street in Haifa, which the national emergency services said injured nine people. On June 16, Israel's Haifa-based Bazan Group said it closed its power station in Haifa Bay after it was significantly damaged by an Iranian attack on June 15, opens new tab, resulting in the death of three employees. Some Facebook posts, opens new tab falsely described the video as showing Tel Aviv, which has also been hit by Iranian strikes since June 13. However, the video was filmed in 2015 and shows explosions in Tianjin's industrial zone. The BBC posted the same video to YouTube, opens new tab and its website, opens new tab on August 14, 2015. Reuters reported that two enormous explosions on August 12, 2015, ripped through an industrial area in the port city where toxic gas and chemicals were stored, killing 173 people, opens new tab. Miscaptioned. The clip shows explosions in an industrial area of China's northeastern city of Tianjin in 2015. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.