Closing summary
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Israeli war planes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday, killing at least seven people. Iran’s ambassador to Syria, who had been working at the nearby embassy, said the consulate in the Syrian capital had been hit by six missiles launched by F-35 jets.
At least seven people were killed by the Damascus attack, including a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds force, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and his deputy Haji Rahimi. Five other Iranian officers were killed, the IRGC said.
Iran vowed revenge for the attack. Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said: “We consider this aggression to have violated all diplomatic norms and international treaties.” Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said Iran’s response for the strike would be “at the same magnitude and harshness”.
The attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus came just days after Israel carried out its deadliest strikes in months on Syria’s Aleppo province, killing 53 people, including 38 soldiers and seven members of Hezbollah. Israel as a rule does not comment on its assassination strikes.
The Biden administration is close to approving a major new weapons sale to Israel worth more than $18bn that will include up to 50 US-made F-15 fighter jets, according to a report. The transaction would amount to the largest US foreign military sale to Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
At least 32,845 Palestinians have been killed and 75,392 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Monday. There have been 63 Palestinians killed and 94 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.
Israeli forces announced their withdrawal from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza on Monday after a two-week raid, amid claims from Hamas that the Israel Defense Forces killed 400 people in the compound and allegations from the Palestinian Red Crescent of torture and “executions”.
Senior US and Israeli officials held a virtual meeting to discuss the Biden administration’s alternative proposals to an Israeli military invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. “If they are going to move forward with a military operation, we have to have this conversation,” the White House said.
The meeting between senior US and Israeli officials came after Netanyahu called off a planned visit to Washington last week by a senior Israeli delegation after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN on Monday.
The Israeli parliament approved a law that grants senior ministers powers to shut down foreign news networks deemed a security risk, after its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged swift action to halt Al Jazeera’s activities in the nation. The White House described reports that Israel is trying to shut down Al Jazeera as “concerning”.
Updated
Reuters is also reporting that the Biden administration is considering a major $18bn package of arms transfers to Israel that would involve dozens of F-15 aircraft and munitions.
The sale of 25 F-15s from Boeing to Israel has been under review since the US received the formal request in January 2023, it said, citing sources.
Updated
