Why US-Iran strikes are raising fears of a wider conflict
Iran launched missile strikes on a US base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation on Monday evening, with Iran's Tasnim news agency confirming the operation.
There are also growing fears Iran may target the Strait of Hormuz, Trew explained.
'If they do that, because the shipping lane goes through Iranian territorial waters, it could impact global oil prices and the global economy,' she says.
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BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
Israel approves controversial E1 settlement plans in West Bank
Israel has given final approval for a controversial settlement project that would effectively cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in in the E1 area has been frozen for two decades amid fierce international opposition. Critics warn it would put an end to hopes for a viable, contiguous Palestinian Wednesday, a defence ministry committee approved plans for 3,400 homes in E1. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who unveiled them last week, said the idea of a Palestinian state was "being erased".The Palestinian Authority condemned the move, saying it was illegal and would "destroy" the prospects for a two-state solution. It follows declarations by a growing number of countries of their intention to recognise a Palestinian state, which Israel has has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside settlements are considered illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice last year - although Israel disputes Israeli governments have allowed settlements to grow. However, expansion has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of a right-wing, pro-settler coalition, as well as the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. The plans for 3,401 housing units in E1 - which covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim - were approved by the Civil Administration's Higher Planning defence ministry body also approved 342 units in the new settlement of Asael, a former outpost in the southern West Bank that was built without government authorisation but was made legal under Israeli law in an ultranationalist leader and settler who oversees the Civil Administration, said: "The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions.""Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."He also urged Netanyahu to "complete the move" and formally annex the West effectively annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, in a move not recognised by the vast majority of the international of the E1 project have warned that it would effectively block the establishment of a Palestinian state because it would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south, and prevent the development in the centre of a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now warned: "Under the cover of war, Smotrich and his messianic minority are building a settlement doomed for evacuation in any agreement. E1's sole aim is to sabotage a political solution and rush toward a binational apartheid state."The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank not under full Israeli control, also condemned the approval of the E1 plans."This plan will isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, submerge it in massive settlement blocs" and fragment the West Bank "into disconnected enclaves resembling open-air prisons", the PA's foreign ministry also alleged that the approval constituted "official Israeli involvement in the crimes of settlement, annexation, genocide, and forcible displacement" – accusations that Israel has long PA's foreign ministry appealed for "genuine international action, including sanctions, to compel Israel to halt its colonial schemes (...) and respect the international consensus on resolving the Palestinian question".UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the E1 plans would, if implemented, "would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution"."The Israeli government must reverse this decision," he Abdullah II of Jordan also rejected the E1 plans, saying: "The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace."A German government spokesman said settlement construction violated international law and "hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank".There was no immediate comment from the when asked by Israel's Army Radio on Monday about the Trump administration's stance on E1, ambassador Mike Huckabee said: "Whether or not there should be massive development in E1 is a decision for the government of Israel to make. So we would not try to evaluate the good or the bad of that.""As a general rule, it is not a violation of international law. And it is also incumbent on all of us to recognise that Israelis have a right to live in Israel."The July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice said Israel's "continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful" and that the country was "under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence... as rapidly as possible".Israel's prime minister said at the time that the court had made a "decision of lies" and insisted that "the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land".
Reuters
21 minutes ago
- Reuters
Senior ISIS member killed in US military operation in Syria, official says
ATMEH, Syria, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A pre-dawn U.S. military raid in northwestern Syria early on Wednesday targeted and killed a senior member of the Islamic State group, a U.S. official told Reuters. It was the second known raid in northern Syria by U.S. troops since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. The Islamist-led government that replaced him has pledged to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State and is part of an anti-ISIS alliance that includes the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group. The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the raid killed a senior ISIS member who was seen as a candidate to be the leader of ISIS in Syria. No U.S. troops were killed or injured in the raid, the official added. A Syrian security source and Syria's state-owned Al-Ikhbariya said the target was killed as he tried to escape. Another Syrian source said the target was an Iraqi national and was married to a French national. It was not immediately clear what happened to his wife. The Pentagon did not immediately have any public comment on the reports. The operation began at around 2 a.m. (1100 GMT), according to the Syrian security sources and neighbours in the town of Atmeh, in Idlib province. Helicopters and drones provided air cover, one Syrian security source and residents said. Local Syrian forces set up a cordon around the neighbourhood, but U.S. forces conducted the actual raid, the second security source said. Abdelqader al-Sheikh, a neighbour, said he was up late with his son and heard a noise in the yard next door. "I called out, 'Who are you?' and they started speaking to me in English, telling me to put my hands up," Sheikh told Reuters. He said the armed forces stayed on the roofs of surrounding houses for the next two hours and that he could hear someone nearby speaking Arabic in an Iraqi accent. In July, the Pentagon said its forces had conducted a raid in Aleppo province resulting in the death of a senior Islamic State leader and his two adult Islamic State-affiliated sons. Idlib has been a hiding spot for senior Islamic State figures for years. U.S. forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the village of Barisha in Idlib province in 2019 and his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, in Atmeh in 2022.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Israeli military to call up 60,000 reservists as it plans new phase of Gaza war
An Israeli military official said that the country's top generals had approved plans to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, the official said that the military will be operating in parts of Gaza City where the Israeli military has not yet operated and where Hamas is still active. Advertisement Israeli troops are already operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, and the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, in order to prepare the groundwork for the expanded operation, which is expected to receive approval from the chief of staff in the coming days. It remains unclear when the operation will begin. Smoke rises following an Israeli army airstrike in Khan Younis (Mariam Dagga/AP) The official said 60,000 reservists will be called up in the coming month, nearly doubling the number of active reservists to 120,000. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the objective was to secure the release of the remaining hostages and ensure Hamas and other militants can never again threaten Israel. Advertisement Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Israeli soldiers work on their tanks (Ariel Schalit/AP) Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. The planned offensive into Gaza City and the central camps has heightened international condemnation of Israel and fuelled fears of another mass displacement among Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in the city and its holds some of the last remnants of critical infrastructure remaining in Gaza. Advertisement Mediators and Hamas say they have agreed to ceasefire terms, but Israel's response remains unclear as members of Mr Netanyahu's coalition oppose a phased deal that does not 'complete the defeat of Hamas'.
