Lebanon

Iran lashed out following the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike with attacks on its Gulf neighbours and Israel on Wednesday, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defences and killing two near Tel Aviv as the war in the Middle East showed no signs of slowing. Israel kept up intense pressure on Lebanon with strikes it said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, hitting multiple apartment buildings in Beirut and killing at least six people. In Iran, the Bushehr nuclear power plant complex was hit by a projectile but there were no injuries and the plant suffered no damage, the International Atomic Energy Agency said after receiving a report from Tehran. The IAEA's leader, Rafael Grossi, reiterated his call "for maximum restraint during the conflict to prevent risk of a nuclear accident." The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained stubbornly over USD 100 per barrel in early trading on Wednesday, up more than 40 per cent from the start

The developments come amid the evolving security situation in West Asia and the Gulf

The war in the Middle East raged on multiple fronts Monday, as the U.S. and Israel pummeled military targets in Iran's capital, Israel stepped up its campaign against Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and Iran retaliated with a drone strike that temporarily forced the closure of Dubai's airport, a crucial hub for travelers. Fears of a global energy crisis persisted, even as a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is usually transported. Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the strait - and even just the threat of attacks - have slowed shipping to a trickle, dramatically increasing the price of oil and pressuring Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers and the global economy. Brent crude, the international standard, remained over $100 a barrel on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said he has demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the Strait of ...

The Israeli military said the strikes were part of its ongoing campaign targeting Iran's ballistic missile network and air defence systems in multiple locations across the country

The Iranian force also claimed that satellite imagery showed extensive damage to the targeted bases

Meanwhile, Israeli forces attempted to advance into the border town of Aita al-Shaab, where gunfire and shelling were heard during clashes

The development comes as Israel threatens what could be its largest ground invasion of Lebanon since the 2006 War

Apparent fire from a heavy machine gun sparked a blaze at the UN peacekeeping force position near the village of Mais al-Jabal when a UN peacekeeper was hurt on his way to a shelter in Lebanon. Kandice Ardiel, a spokeswoman for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, said it launched an investigation and reminds all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers at all times. UN positions in southern Lebanon have been hit several times during exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, including on March 6 when three peacekeepers were wounded at a UNIFIL base.

According to the Indian Embassy in Beirut, the first batch of 177 Indian nationals was repatriated to New Delhi on a charter flight arranged by their employer on Wednesday

The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when Israeli warplanes began attacking southern Lebanon in retaliation for rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah. The family quickly packed up and headed toward Beirut, seeking safety from another deadly war between Israel and Hezbollah. With tens of thousands of others fleeing on that March 2 day, the usually one-hour trip from the southern city of Nabatiyeh took 15 hours. "I am against giving pretexts to Israel," said the 45-year-old woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the Hezbollah supporters she lives among. "I am totally against Hezbollah's decision to start with the first strike," said the woman, who is now living with her husband, their 17- and 12-year-old children, and her mother-in-law inside a school turned into a shelter in the Lebanese capital. As Hezbollah enters a new round of fighting with

UN agency says dozens of children killed and hundreds injured as hostilities escalate and mass displacement spreads across Lebanon

The human rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday that the Israeli military "unlawfully" hit a village in southern Lebanon with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition. Through geolocating and verifying seven images, Human Rights Watch said Israel fired white phosphorus using artillery at residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor. It happened hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Human Rights Watch said it couldn't independently identify if any residents were still in the area or if anyone was harmed. Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small. "The .

The IDF said that these IRGC commanders were eliminated in the Roaring Lion Operation

Israel's renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the opening days of the war

Israel has struck southern Lebanon and Beirut again early Sunday and killed 12 more people, the Lebanese health ministry said, as the war in the Middle East keeps escalating. Israeli officials said the strikes targeted commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "many surprises" for the next phase of the conflict. Meanwhile, two border guards in Kuwait were killed when a swarm of missiles and drones hit the Gulf country. On Saturday, an Israeli attack hit an oil storage facility in Tehran, which sent up pillars of fire that could be seen in Associated Press video as a glow against the night sky. It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war. The war, which erupted on Feb 28 after joint US-Israeli strikes hit Iran, has so far killed at least 1,230 people in the Islamic Republic, more than 300 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials.

Israel renewed its assault on southern Lebanon on early Sunday, including targeting commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "many surprises" for the next phase of the conflict. The Israeli military said in a statement that it would "not allow Iranian terrorist elements to establish themselves in Lebanese territory." The latest strikes in Lebanon followed an Israeli attack Saturday on an oil storage facility in Tehran, which sent up pillars of fire that could be seen in Associated Press video as a glow against the night sky. It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war. State media blamed "an attack from the US and the Zionist regime" at the site that supplies the capital and neighbouring provinces in the north. Elsewhere, Kuwait authorities said two border guards were killed when the Gulf country was hit by a swarm of missiles and drones. The .

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Saturday told residents of a northern Israeli city close to the border with Lebanon to evacuate and head south

Lebanese health officials said on Saturday that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 16 people and wounded 35 others in overnight Israeli airstrikes in the mountain town of Nabi Chit. The Lebanese Health Ministry offered the figure. The Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed late Friday in the mountains of eastern Lebanon. Israel has yet to comment on the fighting there.

Israel launched a series of strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday after ordering all residents of the densely populated area to evacuate. Traffic was gridlocked in Lebanon's capital on Thursday as panicked residents tried to flee after Israel's military issued an evacuation notice telling residents to "save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately," and specified which routes they should take to escape. Hours later, strikes began to hit the Beirut suburbs. Since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has struck sites in Beirut's suburbs and issued a blanket warning for residents south of the Litani River - an area in southern Lebanon stretching to the border with Israel - to evacuate their homes, but had not previously issued a blanket evacuation order for Beirut's southern suburbs. After the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and dro

At least 102 people in Lebanon have been killed since the onset of the latest conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement. At least 638 others were wounded, the ministry said Thursday. The latest conflict between the two sides was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel early Sunday. Israel has been striking large swaths of the country in response. Chaos sown by Iran's attacks across Persian Gulf is key to its strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For years, Iran's theocratic government warned it would blanket the Middle East with missile and drone fire if it felt its existence was threatened. Now, it's doing just that. Since the US and Israel launched the war Saturday, Iran has unleashed thousands of missiles and drones at Israel, American military bases and embassies, and energy facilities across the Gulf. Its basic strategy is to instill fear about the