An attack by Iran on Israel is imminent. The USA is warning – and sending fighter jets to the Middle East. All developments in the news blog.
2:45 am: The US has moved Navy fighter jets to a military base in the Middle East to improve Israel’s protection against possible attacks by Iran and its allied groups. About a dozen F/A-18 fighter jets and an E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft flew from the aircraft carrier “USS Theodore Roosevelt” in the Gulf of Oman to the unidentified base, the AP news agency reported, citing a US government official. The fighter jets had already reached the base on Monday.
1 O ‘clock: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has issued a strong warning against an escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel. Everyone in the region should understand “that further attacks only increase the risk of dangerous consequences that no one can predict and no one can fully control,” Blinken said during a joint press appearance with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong and the defense ministers of both countries in the US state of Maryland.
“I think nobody actually wants an escalation, nobody wants an escalation of the conflict, but it is very important that it could happen, even if it is unintentional,” said Blinken. At the same time, he reiterated Israel’s “ironclad” support for self-defense. The US military is also continuing to take steps to ward off an escalation by Iran and its allies, said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
21:58: Canada plans to evacuate its diplomats and their families from Israel to Jordan on Wednesday afternoon. This is reported by several media outlets. The reason for this is said to be the tense security situation in the country and in particular the expected attack by Iran.
8.16 p.m.: Barely a week after the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya, the Islamist terror group has appointed its head of the military wing, Jihia al-Sinwar, as the new leader of the organization. Hamas announced this on the Telegram platform. Read more here.
19:54: In order to free the Hamas hostages, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wants to let the civilian population in Gaza suffer – but lacks the moral support of other countries. It is “impossible to wage war” these days, Smotrich said on Monday, as reported by US broadcaster CNN.
“Nobody in the world would allow us to let two million people in Gaza starve and die of thirst, although that would probably be just and moral,” Smotrich continued.
Deliveries of food, fuel or money to the Gaza Strip went directly to Hamas, said Smotrich. “You can’t fight Hamas with one hand and supply them with the other.”
16.11: After the attacks and threats of the past few days, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock still sees a possibility to prevent further escalation in the Middle East. At the same time, she is urging Germans in the region to leave dangerous areas as quickly as possible. “I call on all Germans in the region to take our travel warnings seriously.”
“An evacuation operation is not a package deal and, despite all the security measures, is associated with dangers and uncertainties,” said the Foreign Office. No one should rely on an evacuation from Lebanon being possible without problems. Instead, the options for leaving the country that are still available should be used urgently.
