Israel has promised ‘severe response’ to Iran’s missile attack – and the signs aren’t good
There were celebratory fireworks set off in parts of the Lebanese capital Beirut as Iran launched volleys of missiles in its most serious attack yet against Israel.
Israel has made plenty of enemies not just in Lebanon but throughout the region.
It can be no coincidence that the attack came on the same day that Israeli troops invaded Lebanon to carry out what they described as “limited operations” against Hezbollah, the militant group allied closely with Iran.
Hezbollah is designated a terror group by the UK, the US and other Western nations.
Follow latest: Israel to launch ‘significant retaliation against Iran within days’
A rocket in the sky above Tel Aviv. Pic: Reuters
The attack coincided with a previous turbulent 24 hours for the so-called Axis of Resistance, during which Israel bombed a range of groups linked to Iran.
Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen were hit; Iranian-aligned groups in Syria were attacked and Hamas, also supported by Iran, continued being bombarded in Gaza.
All of this is on top of bombarding Iran’s closest and most strategically important partner in the region, the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Looks like Iran judged it needed to flex its muscles
It very much looks like Iran may well have judged it needed to flex its muscles to try to stem Israel’s expanding actions and alleviate the pressure on its most powerful ally Hezbollah.
For two weeks, Hezbollah has been hammered by Israeli forces.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb. Pic: AP
The militant group unilaterally embroiled Lebanon in this war by mounting attacks on Israel last October in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Five times as many strikes inside Lebanon than inside Israel
Israel has retaliated by launching about five times as many strikes inside Lebanon, according to figures from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).
Tehran’s representative at the UN posted on X that the strike on Israel was “Iran’s legal, rational and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime”. The mission also warned of a “crushing response” if Israel retaliates.
But will it? Israel’s UN envoy immediately promised a “severe response” to the Iranian missile attack. The signs aren’t good – and escalation seems to be the only common language right now.
Even as I am writing, we’ve just heard the boom of an Israeli airstrike landing in the southern city of Tyre. The country will be nervously awaiting potentially much more.
When we moved through Tyre earlier, it seemed unusually quiet and empty. A lot of the shops were closed and the businesses shuttered.
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Lebanese families wiped out in village
The Israeli military had earlier issued directives to vehicles not to cross from the north to south of the Litani river because of what it described as the security situation.
Lebanese army helping evacuate villages near Israel border
We saw Lebanese army troops positioned around the river urging civilians to leave the area and not venture further south. One soldier told us they were helping out in evacuations of villages close to the Israeli border.
The images of Israeli troops massing on their southern border followed by announcements that troops were carrying out “limited operations” in their country have alarmed residents even more.
An estimated million people have already been displaced, according to Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati.
But in the old city of Tyre, we found some who are refusing to leave.
“I’m not leaving,” Elias Barbour told us. “No matter what they do, we won’t leave. This is my business. Everything we have is here and we’re not going to leave it.”
Elias Barbour has vowed not to leave
Lebanese bury their dead
They’re still holding mass funerals in the village of Ain-el-Delb on the outskirts of Sidon.
We saw another 13 people buried who were killed in the deadliest single Israeli attack in the country in nearly a year.
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Mass funerals held for victims in Lebanon
The bombs levelled two residential apartments packed with families, killing 45 including women and children. Some of the families had taken in a few of those who were among the million people who have fled their homes.
The villagers are grief-stricken but they are also angry.
‘Everyone just wants this to end’
Ellen, a 27-year-old masters student who had left her studies in France to join her family, told us: “Everyone just wants this to stop, to end. It’s our land, it’s our home, it’s our people. We just want to live in peace – that’s what we want.
“They should not attack any kilometre of our land. It’s ours.”
Ellen says ‘everyone just wants this to stop’
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Iranian ballistic missile attack, according to the Revolutionary Guards, was aimed at military bases.
It was followed up with a message from the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian who warned: “This is only a corner of our power. Do not enter into a conflict with Iran.”
A situation that was already dire just seems to have got even more dangerous.
:: Alex Crawford reports with camera Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Lebanon producers Jihad Jneid and Sami Zein.
World
Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant and senior Hamas commander over alleged war crimes
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence secretary Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas commander by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants against the senior Israeli figures are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks. It is unclear if he is still alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this year.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
The new UK Labour government said in the summer it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN general assembly. Pic: Reuters
Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
Netanyahu previously spoke of his “disgust” at the suggestion the ICC would seek an arrest warrant for him.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
“The court has minimised how Hamas fights – deliberately from within civilian infrastructure and cruelly using Palestinian civilians as human shields, tragically leading to many casualties,” the board said.
“Democratic governments, and people around the world, should consider how they would have responded to an October 7th perpetrated against their country, involving mass murder, rape, and hostage-taking.
“We should all be focused on defeating the Hamas terrorists, liberating the hostages, ensuring that civilians in Gaza receive all necessary aid and working towards a sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians to prevent these horrible conflicts in the future.
“The decision of the ICC is counter-productive in all these respects.”
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A video released by Hamas in 2005 shows a man identified as Mohammed Deif. Pic: AP
Warrant for Hamas leader
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
The home secretary has refused to say if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he landed on British soil after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
But Yvette Cooper said the ICC, which the UK is a member of, is independent and while the government respects that, it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved.
She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.
“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”
However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.
“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”
The government said after winning July’s election it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant (right) have arrest warrants against them. File pic: Reuters
Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.
However, both France and Italy signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.
Read more:
What satellite images tell us about North Gaza
Hamas ready for Gaza ceasefire ‘immediately’
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Why have arrest warrants been issued?
The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
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