Gaza truce marks new swap
RAMALLAH: Hamas released Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov in Gaza on Saturday and Israel freed some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange, after mediators helped avert a collapse of the fragile ceasefire. The three Israelis were led onto a stage with Palestinian Hamas fighters armed with automatic rifles standing on each side of them at the site in Khan Younis, live footage showed, before they were taken back into Israel by Israeli forces.
Shortly afterwards, buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees departed Israel's Ofer jail in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The first bus arrived in Ramallah to a cheering crowd, some waving Palestinian flags. Buses carrying some of the hundreds of Palestinian freed prisoners and detainees, some flashing victory signs as they hung from the windows, arrived later at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. — Reuters
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Observer
2 hours ago
- Observer
ME airspace shut after Israel strikes Iran, airlines cancel flights
SEOUL/LONDON: Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region. Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability; and more of a safety concern. Detours add to airlines' fuel costs and lengthen journey times. Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was closed and Israel's air defence units stood on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran. Israel's El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel as did Air France KLM and budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz. Wizz said it had re-routed flights affected by closed airspace in the region for the next 72 hours. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia were moving planes out of the country. FlightRadar data showed airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan was empty, with flights directed towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead. About 1,800 flights to and from Europe had been affected so far on Friday, including approximately 650 cancelled flights, according to Eurocontrol. With Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, the Middle East region has become an even more important route for international flights between Europe and Asia. The escalation of the Middle East conflict knocked shares in airlines around the world with British Airways owner IAG down 4.6 per cent, Delta Air Lines down 4 per cent and Ryanair off 3.5 per cent. A surge in oil prices after the attack also stirred concerns about jet fuel prices. Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen's Ansar Allah fighters towards Israel on May 4 landed near the airport. Passengers gather in front of the ticket counter of Air India airlines, as the flights got delayed and cancelled after airlines divert flights following Israeli strikes in Iran, in Delhi, India. — Reuters Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots. Air India, which flies over Iran on its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London. Germany's Lufthansa said its flights to Tehran have been suspended and that it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for the time being. Emirates also cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran while Qatar Airways axed flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria. Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported. Eastern Iraq near its border with Iran contains one of the world's busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment. Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, also closed its airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said it had instructed Russian airlines to stop using the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan until June 26. It said flights to airports in Iran and Israel were also off limits for civil carriers. FlyDubai has cancelled 22 flights scheduled for June 13-14 to Dubai from 10 Russian airports, Russia's RIA news agency said, citing Rosaviatsia. "Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or north via Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan," according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths — some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and there have been three near misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. — Reuters
Observer
7 hours ago
- Observer
Missiles fired at Israel in response to attacks
JERUSALEM/DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded on Friday night across Israel following what the country's military spokesman said was the firing of missiles from Iran. Iran's state news agency IRNA said hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel's biggest ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran's huge underground nuclear site at Natanz and wiping out its top military commanders. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. Israel said the strikes were the start of "Operation Rising Lion". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having started the strikes and initiating a war. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme. As evening fell on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site which had been spared in the first wave of attacks. Air defences were activated across Tehran and explosions could be heard in Isfahan. Israel's military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli campaign was aimed at defeating an existential threat from Iran, invoking the failure to halt the Holocaust in World War Two. Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," he said in a TV address. "Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future."
Observer
10 hours ago
- Observer
Iran says Israel attack 'declaration of war'
TEHRAN: Iran called Israel's wave of strikes on Friday a declaration of war, while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of "even more brutal" attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear programme. Israel said its air strikes had killed several top generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards' air force, while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faced a "bitter and painful" fate over the attacks, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a "declaration of war" and President Masoud Pezeshkian said "Iran will make the enemy regret its foolish act". The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defences intercepting them outside Israeli territory, while neighbouring Jordan said it targeted drones and missiles that violated its airspace. Trump urged Iran on Friday to "make a deal", warning that there will be more "death and destruction" after Israel launched deadly strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. The United States underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action and warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests, but Tehran said Washington would be "responsible for consequences". This picture shows a building damaged in an Israeli strike on Tehran on Friday. Israel hit about 100 targets in Iran including nuclear facilities and military command centres and killied senior figures including the armed forces chief and top nuclear scientists. — AFP Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", taking aim at nuclear scientists and the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. The strikes would "continue as many days as it takes", the Israeli premier said, while the military said intelligence showed Iran was approaching the "point of no return" on its nuclear programme. The strikes killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported. Khamenei swiftly appointed new commanders to replace those killed, while state media said a senior adviser to the supreme leader had himself been wounded. "The senior chain of command of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had assembled in an underground command centre to prepare for an attack on the State of Israel," the Israeli military said, adding that its attacks had killed most of them. Iran confirmed the Guards aerospace commander had been killed, along with "a group of brave and dedicated fighters". Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the "precise targeting of senior commanders... sends a strong and clear message: those who work towards Israel's destruction will be eliminated". A Muslim worshipper reacts as she prays with other Iranian pilgrims visiting the Imam Ali Shrine in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Najaf on Friday, in the wake of Israel's strikes on Iran earlier in the day. — AFP SCATHING RESPONSE Tehran's streets were deserted except for queues at petrol stations, a familiar sight in times of crisis. "How much longer are we going to live in fear?" asked Ahmad Moadi, a 62-year-old retiree. "As an Iranian, I believe there must be an overwhelming response, a scathing response." Air traffic was halted at Tehran's main gateway, Imam Khomeini International Airport, while Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspace. Israel declared a state of emergency as anxieties grew amidst a wave of uncertainty gripped the region. "I'm worried for my children and also about my livelihood, because this affects the market. You can't work, you can't do anything," Tel Aviv resident Vered Saar said. Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes, which came after Trump's warning of a "massive conflict" in the region. Trump had also said the United States was drawing down staff in the Middle East, after Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict broke out. Prior to the strikes, Trump said he believed a deal on Iran's nuclear programme was "fairly close", cautioning however that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement. People attend an anti-Israeli protest following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. — Reuters WITHIN REACH With the violence raising questions on whether a sixth round of talks planned between the US and Iran would still take place on Sunday in Oman, Trump said Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table". Confirming Natanz had been among Israel's targets, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was "closely monitoring" the situation as the Israeli military said it hit the underground uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site. "Most of the damage is on the surface level," said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza. Since the Hamas attack, Iran and Israel have traded direct attacks for the first time. "I think Israel has declared all-out war against Iran," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. "Is Iran a paper tiger, or will Iran stand up and show the Iranians and the world that it's a pivotal state, it has the capacity, the means and the will to take on Israel?" The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Israel again called for global action after the IAEA accused Iran on Thursday of non-compliance with its obligations. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a largely moribund 2015 agreement with major powers, but still short of the 90 per cent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. — AFP
