Latest news with #ISRAELI
Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Health
- Ya Libnan
Israel attacks Iranian nuclear sites and Iranian missile damages Israeli hospital
AN IRANIAN MISSILE HITS ISRAELI HOSPITAL By Jana Choukeir , Alexander Cornwell and Crispian Balmer June 19, 202511:57 AM GMT+3Updated 1 min ago Israel struck a key Iranian nuclear site on Thursday and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital, as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the U.S. would join Israel in airstrikes seeking to destroy Tehran's nuclear facilities Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike. 'We can't have another Iraq, said Steve Bannon, a key Trump MAGA ally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to press on with Israel's biggest ever attack on Iran until his arch enemy's nuclear program is destroyed, said Tehran's 'tyrants' would pay the 'full price'. His Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilize the 'Ayatollah regime'. Netanyahu has said that Israel's military attacks could topple the regime in Iran, and Israel would do whatever is necessary to remove the 'existential threat' posed by Tehran. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. The Israeli military said it targeted the Khondab nuclear reactor in Iran's central city Arak overnight, including a partially-built heavy-water research reactor. Heavy-water reactors produce plutonium, which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Iranian media reported two projectiles hitting an area near the facility. There were no reports of radiation threats. Israel's military said it also struck a site in the area of Natanz, which it said contains components and specialized equipment used to advance nuclear weapons development. Iran has always denied planning to build an atomic weapon and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Its Atomic Energy Organization said Israel had attacked its nuclear sites 'in renewed violation of international law' and that there were no casualties because the areas had been evacuated. MISSILES DAMAGE HOSPITAL IN ISRAEL On Thursday morning, several Iranian missiles struck populated areas in Israel, including a hospital in the southern part of the country, according to an Israeli military official. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it was targeting Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near Soroka medical centre in the city of Beersheba in the south of the country. Soroka reported it had sustained damage. The week of Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defenses, killing Israelis in their homes. Trails of missiles and interception efforts were visible in the skies over Tel Aviv, with explosions heard as incoming projectiles were intercepted. Israeli media also reported direct hits in central Israel. Emergency services said five people had been seriously injured in the attacks and dozens of others hurt in three separate locations. People were still trapped in a building in a south Tel Aviv neighbourhood, they added. Around a dozen mostly European and African embassies and diplomatic missions are located just a few hundred meters from the strike on Tel Aviv. Buildings were extensively damaged in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, a key commercial hub home to high-rise towers, and emergency workers helping residents, including children. The blast caused significant damage to nearby residential buildings and shattered windows across the area. 'It's very scary,' said Yaniv, 34, who lives just a few hundred meters away. He said he heard a deafening explosion when the missile hit, shaking his apartment tower. The worst-ever conflict between the two regional powers has raised fears that it will draw in world powers and further destabilize the Middle East. Oil prices surged after Israel said it attacked Iranian nuclear sites overnight, as investors grapple with fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East that could disrupt crude supplies. Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack triggered the Gaza war, which has spilled over across the region. It has pounded Iran's regional allies, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, with fierce military campaigns and assassinations of their top leaders, and bombed Yemen's Houthis. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's air campaign . 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he said. Trump also said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting: 'We may do that,' he said, adding 'it's a little late' for such talks. Trump has said the war could end if Iran quickly agrees to sharp curbs on its nuclear program. Tehran has said it will not negotiate while under attack. Nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, due last Sunday, were cancelled. In an effort to restart negotiations, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. On Tuesday he mused on social media about killing Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, then demanded Iran's unconditional surrender. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations . But the prospect of a U.S. strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. REUTERS
The Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
At least 18 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, civil defence agency says
ISRAELI FORCES HAVE killed at least 18 Palestinians, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site in central Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency. It is the latest attack in what has become almost daily killings of Palestinians waiting for aid at distribution centres in Gaza. Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mugghayyir told AFP that '18 people have been killed due to ongoing Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 15 of whom were waiting for aid', adding that the remaining three were killed by shelling near Gaza City. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid after breaking a ceasefire amid a deadlock in negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May. Since then, dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points operated by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since it began operating last month. Advertisement UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The first deadly incident happened on the morning of 25 May, when 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire , according to the Gaza Civil Defence agency. Palestinians bury the bodies of their relatives killed yesterday evening at an aid distribution area in the Sudanese area, northwest of Gaza City. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The following morning, Israeli forces shot dead three people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In a statement on Tuesday, the organisation said that 'to date, not a single incident has occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of GHF sites nor has an incident occurred during our operating hours'. Yesterday , Gaza's civil defence agency said 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 11 who were seeking aid. On Tuesday , the agency said at least 51 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded while waiting for desperately needed humanitarian aid. The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of Israeli siege, bombardment and widespread destruction caused by fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups. Related Reads Israeli troops kill 11 Palestinians waiting for food, with 19 killed in strikes, Gaza's civil defence says Israeli forces kill more than 50 and wound over 200 in latest massacre at aid site in Gaza Israeli troops kill 20 Palestinians waiting to collect food, says Gaza's civil defence agency The health ministry said yesterday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel violated the ceasefire on 18 March. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry. With reporting from © AFP 2025 Need more information on what is happening in Israel and Gaza? Check out our new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to navigating the news online. Visit Knowledge Bank Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
America's huge bunker-busting bomb is not sure to work in Iran
ISRAELI AIR strikes have destroyed some buildings on the surface of Iran's nuclear facilities, but the heart of the operation at sites such as the Fordow fuel-enrichment plant is still likely to be intact, hidden deep underground. Destroying this type of facility requires bunker-busting bombs more powerful than anything Israel can deliver. Donald Trump, America's president, has indicated in recent days that he is coming around to the idea of helping. On June 17th he warned 'our patience is wearing thin' with Iran. Reaching Iran's bunkers will take a special kind of bomb: the US Air Force's GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP). The MOP is a huge weapon weighing 13 tonnes; conventional bombs are closer to one tonne. It is deployed on the UFO-like B-2 stealth bomber—flown exclusively by the US Air Force—which can carry only two at a time. The bomb has never been used in action. The MOP is dropped from high altitude to smash through rock using sheer kinetic energy. It has a narrower profile than general-purpose bombs to concentrate the force in a small area, and most of its weight comes from its thick steel casing. Only 20% of the bomb's total weight is the explosive filler. The casing is a special ultra-strong alloy known as Eglin Steel (named after an Air Force base in Florida where it was developed). A MOP can reportedly penetrate 60 metres of standard concrete (see chart). The bomb was first tested in 2007, and its design has been upgraded several times since. At least 20 are known to have been delivered in the first batch. As with smaller bunker-busters, MOPs are probably fitted with a void-sensing fuse which detects its surroundings and detonates when it emerges from solid rock into a cavity. A facility might have multiple levels, and the fuse can be programmed to explode on the third level underground, for example, in order to cause the most damage. MOPs were developed by America's air force when it found that its existing bunker-busters could not damage Iraqi bunkers during the invasion in 2003. A new weapon had to be rushed into service. The MOP aimed to smash even deeper and harder bunkers being built in Iran and North Korea. However, there are limits to what even the biggest conventional bomb can do. Whereas the MOP can go through over 60 metres of standard concrete, which can withstand 5,000 pounds-per-square-inch (psi) of pressure, that drops to eight metres for concrete of double the strength. In recent years Iran has advanced considerably in the field of Ultra High-Performance Concrete (UHPC), producing material with strengths of 30,000 psi or more. And even if the bomb can break through, hitting the target may not be straightforward. MOPs need great accuracy to be effective and, like most American guided bombs, they rely on GPS satellite guidance. Military GPS is supposed to be jam-resistant, but in Ukraine American-supplied bombs have been severely affected by Russian jamming. In some cases it had reportedly decreased their accuracy from 20 metres to 1,200 metres before fixes helped to restore their accuracy. But jamming techniques have improved too, turning it into a cat-and-mouse game. Israel is less reliant on GPS, and has alternatives such as the SPICE guidance system, which relies on cameras on bombs and uses AI-guided steering to reach the target. Israel has used weapons with SPICE in the current campaign against Iran. America may want to hastily retrofit this—or an American equivalent—to a MOP if America's generals lack confidence in GPS, although this process could take some weeks. No conventional bomb except a MOP has a chance of finishing off Fordow, and only America can supply them. But even if Donald Trump decides to drop one (or even several), it is not assured to succeed.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Putin on Iran and Germany's Merz
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin made the following comments to senior news agency editors on the conflict between Iran and Israel and on whether he would be willing to speak to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. ASKED ABOUT ISRAELI REMARKS ABOUT POSSIBLE REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN: "You always need to look at whether the goal is achieved or not when starting something. We see that today in Iran, with all the complexity of the internal political processes taking place there, we are aware of this, and I think there is no point in going deeper, but nevertheless there is a consolidation of society around the country's political leadership. This happens almost always and everywhere, and Iran is no exception. This is the first thing. "The second thing that is very important is that everyone is talking about it, I will only repeat what we know and hear from all sides, these underground factories, they exist, nothing has happened to them. And in this regard, it seems to me that it would be right for everyone to look for ways to end hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to come to an agreement with each other in order to ensure both Iran's interests, on the one hand, for its nuclear activities, including peaceful nuclear activities, of course (I mean peaceful nuclear energy and the peaceful atom in other areas), as well as to ensure the interests of Israel from the point of view of the unconditional security of the Jewish state. This is a delicate issue, and, of course, you need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, in general, such a solution can be found." ASKED IF HE WOULD BE WILLING TO SPEAK TO GERMANY'S MERZ: "If the Federal Chancellor wants to call and talk, I have already said this many times - we do not refuse any contacts. And we are always open to this... At some point, when our European partners decided to inflict a strategic defeat on us on the battlefield, they themselves stopped these contacts. They stopped, let them resume. We are open to them. "I do doubt if Germany can contribute more than the United States as a mediator in our negotiations with Ukraine. A mediator must be neutral. And when we see German tanks and Leopard (battle tanks) on the battlefield, and now we are looking at the fact that the Federal Republic is considering supplying Taurus (missiles) for attacks on Russian territory using not only the equipment itself, but also using Bundeswehr officers... Here, of course, big questions arise. It is well known that if this happens, it will not affect the course of hostilities, that is excluded. But it will spoil our relationship completely. "Therefore, today we consider the Federal Republic, just like many other European countries, not a neutral state, but as a party supporting Ukraine, and in some cases, perhaps, as accomplices in these hostilities. Nevertheless, if we are talking about a desire to talk about this topic, to present some ideas on this subject, I repeat once again, we are always ready for this." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Economist
2 days ago
- Politics
- Economist
America's huge bunker-busting bomb is not sure to work in Iran
ISRAELI AIR strikes have destroyed some buildings on the surface of Iran's nuclear facilities, but the heart of the operation at sites such as the Fordow fuel-enrichment plant is still likely to be intact, hidden deep underground. Destroying this type of facility requires bunker-busting bombs more powerful than anything Israel can deliver. Donald Trump, America's president, has indicated in recent days that he is coming around to the idea of helping. On June 17th he warned 'our patience is wearing thin' with Iran. Reaching Iran's bunkers will take a special kind of bomb: the US Air Force's GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP).
