Five dead and aid staff feared kidnapped in Gaza ambush
Hamas has killed five staff belonging to a new US aid delivery company in Gaza and may also have taken hostages, the organisation said.
In a statement early on Thursday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) team said the terror group attacked a bus carrying more than two-dozen of its team at around 10pm on Wednesday.
GHF said Palestinians working 'side-by-side with the US' to deliver critical aid were 'brutally attacked by Hamas' late on Wednesday night.
A statement said: 'At the time of the attack, our team was en route to one of our distribution centres in the area west of Khan Younis.
'We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage.'
The spokesman said both Americans and Palestinians were on the bus, and talked about staff being 'unaccounted for'. Americans are not believed to be among those missing.
Any taking of hostages would be likely to complicate the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The group is believed to still hold 20 living Israelis somewhere in the strip from the October 7 raids.
However, GHF has released statements in the past that turned out to be misleading and the IDF has yet to comment officially.
The US-firm has been mired in controversy since it took over aid in Gaza as part of a US and Israeli plan to prevent humanitarian aid from falling into the hands of Hamas.
The plan has been opposed by the UN and much of the international community. A number of mass-casualty events have taken place near its distribution sites in the last two weeks, with eye-witnesses blaming Israeli troops, who provide an outer ring of security.
Twenty-five were killed near a site early on Wednesday, according to local hospitals, which fall under the authority of Hamas.
However, the Israeli government has consistently claimed that Hamas is trying to undermine the new system, and in recent days the sites temporarily closed, with GHF citing threats from the terror group.
The GHF spokesman added: 'This attack did not happen in a vacuum. For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. These threats were met with silence.'
'The GHF holds Hamas fully responsible for taking the lives of our dedicated workers who have been distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people at the foundation's sites in central and southern Gaza.
'Tonight, the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity.'
NGOs and the UN argue that the system forces Palestinians, many of whom are on the brink of starvation, to walk large distances through dangerous areas to collect food, which itself is unsuitable because much of it needs cooking at a time of acute fuel shortage.
Israel said that, under the old system, which shipped humanitarian aid directly into Palestinian communities in Gaza, Hamas routinely purloined the aid, selling it back to the population at inflated prices as a means of keeping control and bolstering its coffers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The world is cruel and full of horrors. Israel understands this - and acts. It is doing a service not just for itself, but for the Iranian people and all those who care about fighting theocratic murderers, writes DAVID PATRIKARAKOS
Shock and awe. The words seem almost inadequate to capture the magnitude of the destruction, the scale of Israel 's military and strategic audacity. But the images are unequivocal. Smoke surges skywards. Flames burst across the horizon. Explosions strafe Tehran and Natanz. At 3am local time yesterday the skies over Iran erupted as Israeli fighter jets penetrated their enemy's airspace, littering the ground beneath with high-tech destruction and death. Operation Am KeLavi (Rising Lion) had begun. Over 200 aircraft roared across Iran, dropping 300 munitions on approximately 100 targets. On the ground, commandos moved silently into place. By 3.30am, smoke was rising from Tehran. By 4.15am, state TV showed smoke bursting out of Natanz, around 300km away. The Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the jewel in the crown of Iran's nuclear programme, was erupting and, along with it, quite possibly, Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israel has done the unthinkable. It has done what everybody said it could and should not do. It has, finally, struck the Iranian nuclear programme. Make no mistake, this was a truly historic day. Amid the chaos, and the fear and the noise, I can see the contours of a new Middle East. And like so much else in the region, it is born in violence. The degree to which Israel has degraded or even destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities remains unclear. But by striking Natanz, they have sent a message: Iran's nuclear programme will no longer be tolerated. There is no going back. The nuclear programme sits at the heart of the Mullahs' squalid regime. For decades, they have continued with their nuclear progress in the face of sanctions, international condemnation and political isolation – this week the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world's nuclear watchdog, formally declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. The situation had long been unacceptable to the Israelis. Now, finally, the major attack has come. Have no doubt, this was an extraordinary operation. A combination of military prowess, superlative intelligence, and what you need most in life: chutzpah. In fact, the Israeli operation wasn't one strike – it was three coordinated, high-risk missions run deep inside enemy territory, carried out by Mossad agents and Israeli military forces over months, years, of planning. It demanded precise intelligence, sophisticated equipment, and the covert deployment of commando teams operating deep inside Tehran and across Iran – all under the constant watch of Iranian security forces. In a stunning logistical feat, Mossad agents also smuggled large quantities of specialised weaponry into Iran under the noses of Iranian intelligence, staging these weapons across the country – ready to strike when the time came. The operation's first mission saw Mossad commando teams infiltrate central Iran and deploy advanced targeting systems near key Iranian surface-to-air missile batteries. As the Israeli air force began its air assault, these systems sprang to life, unleashing a salvo of precision-guided missiles with devastating accuracy. In a second mission, Mossad planted high-tech weapons inside civilian-looking vehicles positioned near critical air defence hubs. As Israeli fighter jets began pounding targets from the air, strike systems hidden inside those vehicles were remotely activated to obliterate Iran's air defences. In parallel, embedded Mossad units launched precision-guided missiles they had previously positioned near Iranian sites. The final blow came from within Iran, too. Long before the operation, Mossad agents had smuggled explosive-laden drones into a hidden launch site near Tehran. As the wider assault unfolded, these drones took off from secret launchpads and slammed into surface-to-surface missile launchers at the Asfaqabad base – one of Iran's most strategically sensitive sites. This wasn't just an air raid. It was a meticulously coordinated, multi-front takedown of Iran's military nerve centres – executed with precision, patience and deep penetration. Then there are the assassinations. Israel killed three of Iran's top military commanders, including the head of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, top military commander Mohammad Bagheri, and Gholam Ali Rashid, head of the powerful Khatam al-Anbiya central command. Reports are that General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC's aerospace division and architect of Iran's missile programme, also met a well-deserved end. To get at these men required still more preparation and still more surgical strikes. Yet worse for the Iranians, hours after all this, a second wave of attacks yesterday evening liquidated Quds Force commander General Esmail Qaani, the man responsible for overseeing Iran's regional proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. The Israelis also took out two senior nuclear scientists – Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi. In total, Israel attacked at least six military bases around the capital and residential homes in two highly secure complexes for military commanders as well as multiple other residential buildings in Tehran. As an Israeli security source told me yesterday afternoon: 'These massive attacks by the Israeli air force and Mossad together send a clear message to the Mullahs, and to the world. We are operating inside the beating heart of Iran. We can strike any apartment, any field, any area at any time.' You might say this is Boy's Own stuff – except there's nothing boyish about the remorseless and meticulous Israelis. Among other things, this operation is a monument to their ingenuity and military prowess. Beyond the worldwide reaction, Israel's goal here is an immaculately precise one: to degrade Iran's military command and control, strategic missile capabilities and air defence systems, and to target its nuclear facilities, all of which pose a clear and direct threat to Israel. So far it seems to have done exactly that. According to Iranian state TV, Natanz, Iran's largest uranium enrichment site, which the IDF says 'contains the infrastructure required for enrichment to a military-grade level', has been hit 'several times'. Hours after the first wave of strikes, the Israelis struck Iran's second major nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow. The IDF reports that the strikes destroyed Natanz's underground 'multi-level enrichment hall housing centrifuges, electrical rooms, and other supporting infrastructure'. They also said they 'destroyed critical infrastructure enabling the site's continued operation and advancement of the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons project'. If this is true, it is the biggest setback to Iran's nuclear ambitions this century. But that's not all. Beyond the months of preparation, Rising Lion was the result of years of wider planning between Mossad and the IDF who compiled detailed intelligence dossiers not just on Iran's missile infrastructure but also on its senior military and nuclear personnel. Which explains why the operation has been so devastating in its efficacy. This is a disaster for the Iranians: military, strategically and, of course, for their reputation. Iran has no choice but to respond. Indeed, the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was in full voice. Israel 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres', he thundered – online. 'With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it.' Strong words. And you'd think a huge response would be inevitable. Iran has already fired over 100 drones that the Israeli air force has been shooting down. Last night, it was launching further drone strikes at Israel and there will almost certainly be more in the coming days, probably at IDF bases across the country. Iran also has about 1,600 ballistic missiles it can launch, and while doubts remain over their effectiveness, the damage they can wreak is considerable. The problem is that both of Iran's direct strikes on Israel last year were damp squibs. Pretty much everything it fired was either intercepted by Israel and its allies (including the US and Britain) or landed harmlessly far from their targets. The strikes weakened, rather than strengthened, the perception of Iran as a military power. And this attack has given no reason to alter that assessment. Not least because, right now, it seems like Iranian air defences failed miserably, either because they weren't up to the job or because Israel dispensed with them. So they may be able to launch a huge volley of missiles, and even do damage to Israel. But then what? Iran is without air defences, without an air force, and without their top military commanders. The Israelis would open them up if they launched an all-out attack. It would be carnage for the sadistic Khamenei and his thuggish acolytes. As an Israeli source confided to me yesterday: 'I think parts of the Israeli military establishment are praying that the Iranians launch a vast missile attack because it will allow us to end them.' So the regime is stuck. If they try again and fail again to carry out Khamenei's blood-curdling threats, which they almost certainly will, they are in trouble. Don't forget, it's not only the Israelis watching – it's the Iranian people, the vast majority of whom want nothing more than to see the end of their sordid theocratic oppressors. When I first began studying this subject 20 years ago, Iranians told me they hated the Mullahs but would fight for their country if it were attacked. Two decades of brutality later, and many Iranians are reacting to yesterday's news with cries of 'thank you uncle Netanyahu'. So who can the regime rely on? The Mullahs are always loath to fight face on, preferring instead to strike through their proxies. But those proxies are in disarray, and it is here that we perhaps find the reason that the Israelis have finally carried out an attack they have been talking about for so long – and it all goes back to the horrors of October 7, 2023. Back then, Iran ringed Israel with proxies. But no longer. Hamas may fight on among the rubble of Gaza but it is ravaged, a shadow of what it once was. Hezbollah was once the finest fighting force Israel faced. Now its leader is dead, and its military command crippled by the stunning Israeli pager operation last year when intelligence services turned the terrorist group's communications devices into bombs. Without Hezbollah to protect him, Tehran's Syrian vassal Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown last year. He now languishes in exile in Moscow, a guest of Vladimir Putin for life. Assad's fall is a strategic catastrophe for Tehran. Not only has it lost face for its failure to protect him, but without Assad it no longer has a land bridge to supply Hezbollah with weaponry in Lebanon. October 7 was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and it was carried out by Iran's proxy Hamas. It was supposed to change everything for Israel and for the Middle East. And it did, just not in the way the so-called Axis of Resistance planned. The line between this strike and that day is both clear and straight. Israel has dismantled the proxies, the limbs of the beast, and is now gunning for its head, Iran. Already, politicians and commentators the world over are squawking their disapproval, arguing that the Israelis had no right to launch this stunning offensive because the Iranians don't yet have a nuclear bomb. Others shriek that this is a violation of the rules-based order and international human rights law. Let's be clear, however: Israel – or any other sovereign state in the world – must be able to live within its borders without bombardment year after year from the proxies of a state that repeatedly says it will wipe it off the face of the earth. When that state also amasses massive quantities of highly enriched uranium, you not only have a right but a duty to act against it. That's what the Israelis have done. And it was a long time coming. The world is not what it was. I watched the rules-based order die in the killing fields of eastern Ukraine. I saw international human rights law reveal itself as a joke in Assad's prisons. The world is cruel and full of horrors. The Israelis understand this – and they act. And yesterday in Iran they performed a service not just for themselves, but for the Iranian people, and all those across the world who care about fighting theocratic murderers – in all their guises.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
‘We will show no mercy': Iran accuses Israel of igniting conflict many fear will engulf region
Iran's supreme leader has accused Israel of starting a war with its unprecedented attack, warning Tehran will 'show no mercy'. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel had made a 'grave error' that would bring them 'to ruin', as Iranian missiles lit up the skies above Israeli cities on Friday night. 'They are the ones who have started this and have begun a war,' he said. 'We will show them no mercy. Life will definitely become bitter for them.' The supreme leader's warning comes after Benjamin Netanyahu launched 'Operation Rising Lion' in the early hours of Friday (13 June) with Israel's largest-ever salvo on Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile facilities—attacks that also wiped out many of Iran's most senior military commanders. The Israeli military said it struck over 200 targets in total - with a second round of strikes repeated on Friday evening - including on Iran's sprawling underground nuclear facility at Natanz. Israel and Iran separately confirmed that the barrage killed some of Iran's highest-ranking officers, including Chief of Staff General Mohamed Bagheri and Hossein Salami, the leader of the powerful Revolutionary Guards . Netanyahu has warned that 'more is on the way,' and, in a direct appeal to the Iranian people, appeared to incite them to rise up against their leaders. 'The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker,' he said. 'This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.' The shock confrontation between the arch foes that has ignited fears of a Middle East-wide conflict in a region already on a knife edge. Iran said six prominent nuclear scientists and several of its most senior commanders were killed during Israel's strikes, including the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the armed forces' chief of staff, and the army's deputy commander-in-chief, Gholamali Rashid. Israel also claimed it 'eliminated' the commanders of Iran's air force and drone forces. Iran's United Nations envoy said in total 78 people were killed and more than 320 injured most of them civilians. The daring offensive allegedly saw Mossad operatives deep within Iranian territory conduct a series of covert sabotage missions targeting the country's air defence systems, including by building a drone base near Tehran, security sources told Israeli media. Tehran has responded by launching two salvos at Israel, with the latest on Friday evening lighting up the skies above cities including Tel Aviv. Iran's state media agency IRNA said Iran launched 'hundreds' of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation. But Israeli military sought to downplay the response, saying two barrages of surface-to-surface missiles were launched amounting to 'fewer than 100' projectiles. 'Most were intercepted by air defence systems or failed to reach their targets,' it added. The Israeli military has called its operation in Iran 'pre-emptive,' claiming it had been forced to act by new intelligence showing that Iran was 'approaching the point of no return' in the development of a nuclear weapon. However, a source familiar with US intelligence reports said there had been no recent change in Washington's assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Ayatollah Khamenei had not authorised a resumption of the programme halted in 2003. Israel - that has long fought a shadow war with Iran - has made it repeatedly clear its intention its intentions to wipe out Iran's nuclear capability. While Iran insists its nuclear programme is intended merely for energy purposes, Tehran's leadership has repeatedly called Israel a 'cancer' in the Middle East. The US administration initially distanced itself from the operation by saying Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran'. Later President Donald Trump, issued his own stark warning to Tehran, saying it must make a nuclear deal now or face 'slaughter.' Washington had been expected to hold a sixth round of negotiations with Iran on Sunday in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme - talks which will likely not go ahead now. 'I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal," Trump said Friday morning. 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.' Both the US and UK denied involvement in the Israeli strikes—although US officials later told Reuters that US military ground-based systems helped shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at Israel. While Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency COBRA meeting and urged restraint, Trump labelled the Israeli attack 'excellent' and claimed Washington had been informed beforehand. 'We gave them a chance [to strike a nuclear deal] and they didn't take it,' he said. 'They got hit hard—very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come. A lot more.' 'We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal—it's not too late.' There are concerns the conflict could spark a regional war, with the Middle East already a tinderbox after 20 months of Israel's unprecedented bombardment of Gaza, which followed the 7 October 2023 attack by Iranian-backed Hamas. During that time, Israel has also decimated Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded fire with the Houthis in Yemen, again Tehran's lay, who had been targeting Gulf shipping in retaliation for the Gaza war. One fear is that the confrontation could ignite fighting between the region's most powerful militaries and armed factions, risking wider destabilisation. Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned on Wednesday that if attacked, Tehran would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region . Acknowledging the heightened risk, the US on Wednesday announced the partial closure of its embassy in Baghdad and authorised the 'voluntary departure' of military dependents from bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. In Baghdad, Sajad Jiyad, an Iraqi analyst fellow at Century International, said the Iraqi government could only hope it could 'avoid becoming a battleground.' 'If the escalation continues with Israel, then logically, Iraq would be one of the places where Iran might attack U.S. interests,' he told The Independent. 'We don't have any serious air defence systems. We can't prevent Israeli jets or drones from flying over Iraqi territory. We can't stop Iran from launching missiles from our airspace. 'Iraq is in a difficult position. It is not militarily capable of preventing other countries from using its territory. There is a lot of risk that escalation could play out here.' The same concern was echoed by analysts in Syria, where a nascent government led by Islamist fighter turned president Ahmed al-Sharaa is attempting to rebuild the country after ousting Iran-backed autocrat Bashar al-Assad in December. There are fears that Iran-aligned paramilitaries in Syria still present could use this moment to attack Israel and derail the efforts of the new rebel-led administration. Israel has repeatedly bombed military positions in Syria since Assad's overthrow—most recently accusing an unknown group of firing into Israel from Syria just two weeks ago. US military sites and shipping in the Persian Gulf could also become targets. The UK's maritime agency warned this week that increased tensions in the Middle East could impact shipping in critical waterways and advised vessels to exercise caution when travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, which all border Iran. In Jordan, meanwhile, the military scrambled to intercept a number of missiles and drones that entered its airspace from Iran and were likely to fall on Jordanian territory, including populated areas. Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz was damaged in the overnight attack, with the UN's nuclear watchdog reporting that the above-ground enrichment plant had been destroyed. However, experts reviewing commercial satellite imagery said the damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure from the initial wave of Israeli strikes appeared limited. Investigations have not shown any radioactive or chemical contamination outside the site, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said. Still, the UN's nuclear watchdog warned that any military action endangering the safety of nuclear facilities carries grave consequences for Iran, the region, and beyond. Further Israeli strikes were reported on Friday, including on Iran's military airport in Tabriz and the Shiite holy city of Qom, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency. Holly Dagres, an Iran specialist and senior fellow at the Washington Institute, warned 'Tehran won't bend the knee to pressure' . 'President Donald Trump seems to think that these crippling Israeli strikes will force the Islamic Republic to capitulate, when it is a revolutionary state that feeds off of conflict with its adversaries.'
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Israel launches devastating airstrike on Iran's nuclear sites killing top military leaders
The operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries. Israel launched a brutal attack on the heart of Iran's nucreal and military structure on Friday, June 13, deploying warplanes and drones smuggled into the country to target key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Officials said the barrage was necessary and was aimed to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions. The operation raised the potential for all-our war between the countries and launched the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Within hours, Iran hit back, sending a swarm of drones towards Israeli territory as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of 'severe punishment'. The strike came just a day after the UN's atomic watchdog condemned Iran for failing to meet international nuclear obligations. Israel had long threatened to take action, with previous US administrations trying to hold them back, fearing it could spark a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. However, a confluence of developments following Hamas ' October 7, 2023, attack and the election in the US of President Donald Trump created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Also on Friday, Israel claimed it had struck an Iranian nuclear site in Isfahan. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack. The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) south-east of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic programme. Israel had told the Trump administration that the large-scale attacks were coming, officials in the US and Israel said. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. On Wednesday the US pulled some American diplomats from Iraq's capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two US officials said. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Iran asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles from Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel also said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Israel military spokesman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was 'significantly damaged' and that the operation was 'still in the beginning'. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through. Mr Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse'. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he wrote. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.' Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. 'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons. On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted. For Mr Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel's ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now more than 20 months old. Khamenei said in a statement that Israel 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'. Mr Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran's theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the 'brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years'. 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near,' he said. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
