Closing summary
Mourners gathered in Doha on Friday to hold funeral prayers for slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as Iran and its regional allies vowed to retaliate against Israel. With the bodies of Haniyeh and his bodyguard in coffins draped with Palestinian flags, men knelt and prayed while senior leaders of Hamas’ Qatar-based political office paid their respects to Haniyeh’s family.
Israel’s foreign ministry summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a reprimand on Friday after Turkey’s embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. “The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh,” foreign minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Amid fears of wider Middle East conflict, Poland has advised its citizens against travelling to Lebanon, Israel and Iran, according to updated guidance published on Friday. “In connection with a growing number of Polish tourists visiting Lebanon, Israel and Iran, we want to repeat that we have long advised against any kind of travel to this region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the social media platform X.
The leader of Hezbollah has said that the Lebanese group’s conflict with Israel has entered “a new phase” after the back-to-back assassinations of a senior commander and Hamas’s political chief that risk plunging the Middle East into a regional war. In a televised address broadcast to about 1,000 mourners at the Beirut funeral of Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukur, Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the powerful Shia militia would seek revenge.
The French foreign ministry has formally advised its citizen against travelling to Iran and has asked French citizens still in the country to leave as soon as possible due to a risk of military escalation in the region in a travel advisory published on Friday.
US president Joe Biden said on Thursday the killing of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh was not helpful for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza. Biden said he had a direct conversation with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported. He made the comments at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where a plane carrying detainees released by Russia landed late on Thursday.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken discussed with the United Arab Emirates minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, release hostages and increase humanitarian assistance, the US mission to the Gulf Arab state said.
Three Israeli airstrikes hit the convoy of aid vehicles travelling through Gaza on 1 April, killing seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff. The dead included Palestinians and citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland. The killings drew widespread condemnation from Israel’s allies and accusations that Israel had deliberately targeted the air workers, a claim it rejected.
The family of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has called for “further investigations” into her killing in Gaza, while describing an Australian government-ordered report as only a “first step”. The report said the Israeli government should provide an “appropriate apology” and consider compensation to the families of Frankcom, aged 43, and her six colleagues over their killings on 1 April.
The head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group’s political leader was assassinated in Tehran. At least 90 people were killed and about 300 wounded in the strike. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on 13 July 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and after an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Israel is prepared for any eventuality following warnings from Iran and its allies of retaliation for the killing of senior leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas, and will respond strongly to any attack, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. “Israel will exact a very high price for aggression against us from whatever quarter,” he told a briefing with journalists, echoing a similar warning from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening.
Lufthansa Group has cancelled all its passenger and cargo flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect until 8 August, a spokesperson for the German airline said on Thursday. “The reason for this is the current development in the region,” the spokesperson added.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and the Middle East crisis live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Amid fears of wider Middle East conflict, Poland has advised its citizens against travelling to Lebanon, Israel and Iran, according to updated guidance published on Friday.
“In connection with a growing number of Polish tourists visiting Lebanon, Israel and Iran, we want to repeat that we have long advised against any kind of travel to this region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the social media platform X.
“The unstable security situation makes it possible to believe that it will be more and more difficult to leave the three countries,” the ministry added.
Earlier on Friday, Polish airline LOT said it cancelled eight flights to Lebanon and Israel because of the security situation, PAP news agency reported.
