World leaders called for de-escalation in the Middle East after Iran's state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan on Friday and US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival. Iranian officials played down the incident and said the blasts caused no major damage. Israel had previously warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend. Read our blog to see how the day's events in the Middle East unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, click here.
Summary:
- Iran said Friday it shot down several drones after explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan. Iranian state media reported "no major damage".
- US media quoted unnamed officials as saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to comment on reports that Israel had informed Washington of a planned drone attack.
- G7 foreign ministers joined international calls for restraint from all sides in the Middle East even as they announced new sanctions against Iran over its April 13 attack on Israel.
- At least 34,012 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 76,833 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks that sparked the war and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
- The United States effectively stopped the United Nations from recognising a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny the Palestinian Authority full membership of the world body.
- Dismantling the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, as sought by Israel, would accelerate Gaza's slide into famine and doom generations of children to despair, the organisation's head warned.
- Qatar's PM said the country was reassessing its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas after suffering criticism.
- European Union leaders agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran's drone and missile producers over Tehran's unprecedented weekend attack on Israel.
- The US and Britain also announced that they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
