Iranians lay flowers under a billboard with an image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on October 2, 2024 in Tehran, Iran.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A source close to Hezbollah said on Friday (October 4, 2024) that the Lebanese militant group’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried in a secret location for fear Israel would target a large funeral.

“Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried, until the circumstances allow for a public funeral,” the source said, after an Israeli strike killed the leader last week.

The source said a public funeral had been impossible to hold “for fear of Israeli threats they would target mourners and the place of his burial”.

Shiite Muslim rites provide for such a temporary burial when circumstances prevent a proper funeral or the deceased cannot be buried where they wished.

A Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Hezbollah had, through top Lebanese officials, sought but failed to obtain “guarantees” from the United States, a key ally of Israel, that Israel would not target a public funeral.

Amid intensifying Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah, a massive strike on its south Beirut stronghold on September 27 killed Nasrallah alongside an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general.

Israel said it killed around 20 members of the Iran-backed militant group. Nasrallah still does not have a successor a week after he was killed.

His cousin Hashem Safieddine, a prominent Hezbollah figure touted as a possible successor, was the target of a recent Israeli air strike on south Beirut, U.S. and Israeli media reported.

The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a U.N.-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

Israel told people to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and other communities north of the Litani river, which formed the northern edge of the border zone established by the UN Security Council after the two sides fought a war in 2006. 

-AP

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an urgent meeting of the government’s topmost decision-making body – the Cabinet Committee on Security over the crisis in West Asia.

The committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Finance Minister and the National Security Adviser, discussed in detail the fresh hostilities in the Middle East and the sharp escalation after Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Describing the recent developments in West Asia as “deeply concerning”, the highest committee in the country delved upon various issues arising from the ongoing and widening crisis.

Among several key issues, they discussed the impact on trade, navigation, and supply chains – especially the supply of oil, petroleum, and its products.

India has urged all parties involved in the conflict to address all issues urgently, and through diplomacy and dialogue. New Delhi has also said that the ongoing conflict “must not take a wider regional dimension.”

IMPACT ON MARITIME TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAINS

A conflict doesn’t just affect those who are party to it, but has a fallout that impacts the rest of the region and even the world. With the sharp escalation between Iran and Israel, India is bracing for wider trade disruptions across the key Red Sea and Gulf of Aden routes.

The conflict can lead to significantly higher cargo freight tariffs as Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have close ties with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for most attacks on merchant ships and vessels carrying cargo via the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden routes.

The Red Sea crisis began in October last year, when Iran-backed Houthi militia disrupted global trade in the area. For India alone, it affected petroleum exports which dropped 37.56 per cent to $5.96 billion in August this year, down from $9.54 billion in the same month last year.

The Red Sea route followed by the Suez Canal accounts for 50 per cent of India’s exports – worth Rs 18 lakh crore, and 30 per cent of imports, worth Rs 17 lakh crore, as per data from 2023.

India’s overall merchandise trade (exports and imports combined) in FY23 was Rs 94 lakh crore, with 68 per cent (in value terms) and 95 per cent (in volume terms) shipped by sea.

India also trades heavily with the Gulf nations. As per the latest government data, the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC now contributes 15 per cent of India’s total trade, and sectors like energy, defence, security, and health are growing rapidly in the region. The bilateral trade between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries reached $162 billion last year.
 

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an urgent meeting of the government’s topmost decision-making body – the Cabinet Committee on Security over the crisis in West Asia.

The committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Finance Minister and the National Security Adviser, discussed in detail the fresh hostilities in the Middle East and the sharp escalation after Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Describing the recent developments in West Asia as “deeply concerning”, the highest committee in the country delved upon various issues arising from the ongoing and widening crisis.

Among several key issues, they discussed the impact on trade, navigation, and supply chains – especially the supply of oil, petroleum, and its products.

India has urged all parties involved in the conflict to address all issues urgently, and through diplomacy and dialogue. New Delhi has also said that the ongoing conflict “must not take a wider regional dimension.”

IMPACT ON MARITIME TRADE AND SUPPLY CHAINS

A conflict doesn’t just affect those who are party to it, but has a fallout that impacts the rest of the region and even the world. With the sharp escalation between Iran and Israel, India is bracing for wider trade disruptions across the key Red Sea and Gulf of Aden routes.

The conflict can lead to significantly higher cargo freight tariffs as Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have close ties with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for most attacks on merchant ships and vessels carrying cargo via the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden routes.

The Red Sea crisis began in October last year, when Iran-backed Houthi militia disrupted global trade in the area. For India alone, it affected petroleum exports which dropped 37.56 per cent to $5.96 billion in August this year, down from $9.54 billion in the same month last year.

The Red Sea route followed by the Suez Canal accounts for 50 per cent of India’s exports – worth Rs 18 lakh crore, and 30 per cent of imports, worth Rs 17 lakh crore, as per data from 2023.

India’s overall merchandise trade (exports and imports combined) in FY23 was Rs 94 lakh crore, with 68 per cent (in value terms) and 95 per cent (in volume terms) shipped by sea.

India also trades heavily with the Gulf nations. As per the latest government data, the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC now contributes 15 per cent of India’s total trade, and sectors like energy, defence, security, and health are growing rapidly in the region. The bilateral trade between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries reached $162 billion last year.
 

Yemen’s Houthi rebels conducted drone strikes in Israel’s Tel Aviv early this morning, backing the Palestinian and Lebanese wars against Israel. The operation achieved its goals as the drones successfully reached their targets, the Houthis said in a statement.

“The Drone Air Force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the Yaffa area “Tel Aviv” in occupied Palestine using several Yaffa drones. The operation successfully achieved its goals, with the drones reaching their targets without the enemy being able to intercept or down them,” said statement read.

The armed forces said the attack, which was part of its fifth phase of the “Battle of the Promised Conquest”, was in support of the people of Palestine and Lebanon, and Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood”.

Houthis rebels, who control most parts of Yemen and consider Israel their enemy, entered the war in support of the Hamas after the conflict started in the Middle East last year. They are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States.

Houthis have fired multiple missiles at Israeli cities while Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Yemen, targeting crucial infrastructure including power plants. Seaports used by Houthi rebels to transfer Iranian weapons also came under attack in recent times.

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will host a call of Group of Seven (G7) leaders later on Wednesday (October 1, 2024) to discuss the crisis in the Middle East, her office said.

“Italy will continue to strive for a diplomatic solution, including in its capacity as chair of the G7. I have convened a leaders’ level meeting for this afternoon,” Ms. Meloni was quoted as telling her cabinet.

Follow Israel-Iran war LIVE updates on October 1

Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7 — the club of major Western democracies, which comprises the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Ms. Meloni told her ministers that there was “deep concern” about latest developments, including Iran’s missile attack against Israel and the instability in Lebanon, her office said.

“The goal is the stabilization of the Israeli-Lebanese border through the full implementation of Resolution 1701,” she was quoted as saying, referring to the U.N. resolution which halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in south Lebanon.

Also Read | How Israel took the war to the ‘axis of resistance’, triggering Iran’s response 

“In this framework, Italy has called on the U.N. Security Council to consider strengthening the mandate of the UNIFIL mission in order to ensure the security of the Israel-Lebanon border,” she said.

Italy is a major contributor to the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Italian media reported on Wednesday that the government was considering pulling its forces out of the area given the recent border violence.

People check the rubble of buildings which were levelled on September 27 by Israeli strikes that targeted and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, on September 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday (September 29, 2024) that militant groups would carry on confronting Israel with Tehran’s help following the killing of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian state media reported. “We will not hesitate to go to any level in order to help the resistance,” Mr. Qalibaf said.

Also read: Israel-Hezbollah conflict: All you need to know about the escalating cross-border tension

The Israeli military said on Sunday (September 29, 2024) that it conducted strikes against “dozens” of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces “attacked dozens of terrorist targets in the territory of Lebanon in the last few hours,” the army said in a statement on Telegram.

Also read: How will Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s killing impact West Asia?

In its first statement since the recent escalation with Israel and following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon’s military called for calm among the Lebanese “at this dangerous and delicate stage.” Government officials fear that the country’s deep political divisions at a time of war could rekindle sectarian strife and violence in the small Mediterranean country. “The Israeli enemy is working to implement its destructive plans and spread division among the Lebanese,” the military said.

Follow live updates here

Israel calls for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ resignation after his remarks angered Israel, accusing him of “tolerating and justifying” terrorism

October 25, 2023 06:55 am | Updated 06:55 am IST

Rapidly expanding Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip has killed more than 700 people in the past day as medical facilities across the territory were forced to close because of bombing damage and a lack of power, health officials said on Tuesday.

The soaring death toll from Israel’s escalating bombardment was unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It could signal an even greater loss of life in Gaza once Israeli ground forces backed by tanks and artillery launch an expected offensive into the territory aimed at crushing Hamas.

On Tuesday, Israel said it had launched 400 airstrikes over the past day, killing Hamas commanders, hitting militants as they were preparing to launch rockets into Israel and striking command centres and a Hamas tunnel shaft.

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen, who participated in a Security Council ministerial meeting on the Israel-Gaza situation in United Nations, cancelled his meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and called for his resignation after his remarks angered Israel, accusing him of “tolerating and justifying” terrorism.

ALSO READ | Israel-Hamas war, Day 18 updates

Addressing the council, Mr. Guterres said the situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour and the war in Gaza is raging and risks spiralling throughout the region. The U.N. chief said it is “important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been under increasing bombardment and running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas militants on towns in southern Israel.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said the attacks killed at least 704 people over the past day, including 305 children and 173 women. More than 5,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including some 2,300 minors, the ministry said, without giving a detailed breakdown.

(With inputs from agencies)

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File image of U.S. Army soldiers used for representational purpose only.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. military on Tuesday (October 17) ordered 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East as a show of force as Israel’s war on Hamas intensifies.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the deployment would allow the United States “to respond more quickly” to the crisis, while the White House stressed it did not intend to put U.S. combat forces on the ground.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said preparing the troops for deployment “is really about sending a signal of deterrence.”

“We don’t want to see this conflict escalate and widen,” Mr. Kirby said on CNN. “There are no plans or intentions to put U.S. boots on the ground in combat in Israel.”

The move comes as President Joe Biden heads to Israel on Wednesday to underscore Washington’s support for its close ally.

But Mr. Biden also hopes to prevent the escalating war in Gaza from spilling over into a wider Middle East conflict.

So far, the White House has seen no signs of a deepening engagement by Iran, Mr. Kirby said.

“Outside of the rhetoric…, no we haven’t,” Mr. Kirby said.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the Islamist group’s fighters broke through the heavily fortified Gaza border on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking at least 199 people hostage.

Israel has responded with air strikes that have killed around 3,000 people, also mainly civilians, according to officials in Gaza.

Israel has also imposed a crippling siege on Gaza and deployed tens of thousands of troops to the border in preparation for a ground offensive.

The United States has already deployed two aircraft carriers to the region “to deter hostile actions against Israel,” Mr. Austin said last week.

U.S. media reported the troops being readied for deployment would cover support roles, such as medical assistance and handling explosives.

As Mr. Biden prepared for his trip to Israel, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will be working to approve an aid package for Israel “hopefully within the next few weeks.” The package will include military, humanitarian, intelligence and diplomatic help, he said.

Congress’ lower chamber has been paralysed in recent weeks as Republican lawmakers have tried and so far failed to elect a speaker after the ouster of Kevin McCarthy on October 3 by the party’s hard-right faction.

“With the house in disarray, the Senate will not wait to vote on an Israeli aid package”, Mr. Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor.