Top updates: 31 killed as Israel strikes Lebanon after Hezbollah attack

Israel on Monday launched a barrage of strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, killing 31 persons, reported AP.

The Israeli strikes came after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said that it fired rockets and drones across the border in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei, 86, had served as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989. He controlled all branches of the government and the armed forces. Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that the Israeli airstrikes wounded 149 persons. About two-thirds of those killed were in southern Lebanon, it added.

Earlier, the Israeli military said that it had intercepted a projectile that crossed the border, adding that several others fell in open areas. No injuries or damage were reported, it added.

On Sunday, the United States and Israel hit targets in Iran. The two countries struck Iran’s ballistic missile sites and wiped out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign after Khamenei’s death.

More than 200 persons have been killed since the attack that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, AP quoted Iranian leaders as having said. Tehran has vowed revenge and fired missiles at Israel and other countries across the Gulf in a counteroffensive.

The US on Sunday ⁠condemned Iran’s ‌attacks ‌in ⁠a joint ⁠statement with Bahrain, Jordan, ‌Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the ‌United Arab Emirates.

“The Islamic Republic’s actions represent a dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability,” read the statement. “The targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilising behaviour.”

Here’s more on this and other top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• The Kuwaiti defence ministry said that “several US military aircraft crashed” in the country on Monday, adding that the crew was safe. The cause was unclear. Videos posted on social media showed at least one US F-15 fighter jet crashing in Al Jahra, an area to the west of Kuwait city.
• On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that strikes on Tehran will increase in the coming days with US support, adding that he would do what he has “hoped to do for 40 years – to strike the terrorist regime hip and thigh”. He added that the “tyrant Khamenei” was “eliminated” on Saturday. “Along with him, we eliminated dozens of the regime's top oppressive figures,” the Israeli prime minister said. 

• US President Donald Trump warned that the strikes on Iran will continue until all of Washington’s objectives are achieved. Trump also promised to avenge the deaths of three American soldiers killed in the attacks. 

• On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he held a telephonic conversation with Netanyahu a day earlier to discuss the current regional situation in West Asia. “Conveyed India’s concerns over recent developments and emphasised the safety of civilians as a priority,” Modi said about the phone call. “India reiterates the need for an early cessation of hostilities.”

• On Sunday night, Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security. While New Delhi did not release any statement after the meeting or on the killing of Khamenei, Modi on social media said that he condoled the deaths in the United Arab Emirates during a conversation with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “Thanked him for taking care of the Indian community living in the UAE,” Modi said. “We support de-escalation, regional peace, security and stability.” At least four persons have been killed and more than 100 others injured across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman in the missile and drone attacks by Iran, according to The New York Times.

• Meanwhile, the toll from the strikes launched by Israel on Saturday on an elementary girls’ school in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province rose to “about 180”, Al Jazeera quoted Tehran’s health ministry as saying. 

• Oil prices surged on Monday and stock markets slid as military conflict in West Asia continued. Traders were betting that the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the region would slow or grind to a halt amid the conflict. Brent crude, a benchmark for oil prices globally, jumped 4.5% to $76.07 a barrel, while US crude rose 3.9% to $69.59 per barrel.

• On Sunday, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned Khamenei’s killing, saying that the “targeted assassination of the leadership of a sovereign nation by the so-called leaders of the democratic world” was “despicable”. Her party colleague Pawan Khera noted that the “silence” of the Narendra Modi government on the “targeted assassination” of Khamenei and other Iranian leaders demonstrated its “abdication of moral leadership and its reluctance to say anything remotely critical of the US and Israel”. He added that this was a “complete betrayal of all that India has stood for” and that the country has “never before looked this weak”. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also said that he wrote to the prime minister “expressing our deep apprehension over the escalating situation in the Gulf region following the attack on Iran”.

On Saturday, Israel and the US launched a joint operation to degrade the capabilities of the Iranian government. Iran retaliated to the attacks and said that the US-Israeli operation had begun while the nuclear negotiations were on.

The attacks came amid tensions between the three countries over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Israel has been claiming that Iran is “closer than ever” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance.

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

However, amid fears of a potential attack, with a heavy US military deployment off its coast in recent months, Tehran had been forced to reopen negotiations with Washington about its nuclear programme.

On Sunday, Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli military operation, Iran’s state media reported. His daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also killed in the strike.

Subsequently, senior Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi was appointed to serve as part of the country’s interim leadership. Arafi has been named the jurist member of the temporary leadership council responsible for carrying out the supreme leader’s duties during the transition period until a successor is selected under Iran’s constitutional process.

India on Saturday said that it was “deeply concerned” about the recent developments in Iran and the Gulf. The Ministry of External Affairs urged all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prioritise the safety of civilians. “Dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued to de-escalate tensions,” it stated.

The Indian diplomatic missions are in contact with Indian citizens, the ministry said, adding that advisories had been issued asking them to be vigilant. The Indian embassies in Tehran and Tel Aviv had asked citizens to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary movements.

In view of the conflict, large swathes of its airspace became a no-go zone, forcing global and Indian airlines to cancel flights to the region and reroute several others to avoid the affected corridors on Saturday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation too issued an urgent safety advisory valid until Monday for all airlines to avoid 11 countries in the region comprising Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, The Hindu reported.

The tensions

The US has repeatedly demanded that Iran give up its nuclear programme, threatening that Tehran must meet its terms or face consequences.

Khamenei had warned on February 1 that an attack by the US would spark a “regional war”.

Israel had been preparing for a possible conflict with Iran for several weeks.

In June, Tehran and Tel Aviv agreed to a ceasefire after 12 days of hostilities.

At the time, the Israeli military had struck what it claimed were nuclear targets, and other sites, in Iran with the aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel.

Both countries had later accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

The two countries had been nudged by the US to accept the ceasefire after Washington on June 22 joined Israel’s war against Iran. The US military had carried out what Trump had described as a “very successful attack” on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.

While Trump had claimed at the time that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “completely obliterated” in the attacks, Washington’s preliminary intelligence assessment had said that the strikes only set it back by a few months, and did not destroy its nuclear programme.

Trump’s fresh focus on Iran came after the US’ military operation in Venezuela. On January 3, the US military abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for alleged drug trafficking.

Almost simultaneously, on December 28, protests erupted in Iran initially focused on discontent about rising inflation. However, they later expanded as demonstrations in more than 100 towns demanded an end to clerical rule.

More than 5,000 persons were killed in the crackdown on the protests, according to international rights groups.

Following this, Trump had announced that the US military was moving warships towards Iran “just in case” he wants to take action, saying that he was “watching them very closely”.