Hezbollah fired ten rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa. Not all of them could be intercepted. All developments in the news blog.
11.30amAccording to the army, Israel was attacked this morning with ten rockets from Lebanon. Smoke from explosions could be seen in the sky over Haifa, the country’s main port city. The army says some of the projectiles were fired and others fell in undeveloped areas. Nothing is reported about possible victims.
The terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon says it attacked the Haifa region with Fadi 1 rockets. These have a range of around 70 kilometers and can carry up to 83 kilos of explosives. Hezbollah has been shelling Israel almost daily since the Gaza war began almost a year ago. According to its own statements, the militia allied with Iran wants to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the fight against Israel and achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
For a long time, Israel shot back to a similar extent. Since the beginning of the week, however, the air force has been carrying out massive air strikes in Lebanon, in which hundreds of people have died. International efforts to reach a ceasefire have so far been unsuccessful.
11:28 a.m: Iran will not remain indifferent in the event of an all-out war in Lebanon, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. According to his ministry, Araghchi said this at a meeting of foreign ministers in New York. He also calls for arms and trade sanctions against Israel. Araghchi accuses the international community of incompetence and failure with a view to a possible ceasefire.
Iran’s state power is considered the most important supporter of the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon. Observers believe it is unlikely that Tehran will come to its aid in the event of war. Iran’s new government under President Massoud Peseschkian is struggling with a severe economic crisis and is trying to reconnect with the West.
7.55 a.m.: According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US proposal for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia is not off the table. “Our teams met to discuss the US initiative and how we can advance the common goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue these discussions in the coming days,” said the Israeli leader.
12:11 a.m.: According to the US government, the demand made by a group of states for a three-week ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has been coordinated with the Israeli side. The statement was “not simply written in a vacuum,” says White House communications director John Kirby, “but after careful consultation not only with the countries that signed it, but also with Israel itself.”
A group of states including the USA and Germany as well as influential Arab countries have called for a 21-day ceasefire in the Middle East in order to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then made it clear that Hezbollah would continue to be attacked until the residents of northern Israel, who had been displaced as a result of the mutual shelling, could safely return home.
Thursday, September 26th
11:11 p.m.: EU Council President Charles Michel has urged the Israeli government to break the spiral of escalation in the Middle East in its own interest. “The endless escalation must come to an end,” said Michel at the general debate at the United Nations in New York. “Dragging Lebanon into the spiral is absolutely irresponsible,” he explains. So far, corresponding demands on Israel’s government have not borne fruit. “It can’t go on like this,” warns Michel.
The Palestinian people have the right to their own state. If this didn’t exist, it would continue to lead to “the security of Israel and all Jews being undermined,” says Michel. Addressing Israel’s government, he added: “Attempting to achieve security without peace is impossible. Without peace there can be no lasting security. A world driven by revenge is a less secure world.”
