Closing summary
It has just gone 4.45pm in Gaza, 5.45pm in Tel Aviv and Damascus, and 6.15pm in Tehran. We will be closing this blog, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Here is a recap of the latest developments:
A vessel “linked to Israel” was seized by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards on the strait of Hormuz, 50 nautical miles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday. Commandos dropped from a helicopter on to an Israeli-affiliated container ship, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, and Iran’s state news agency said the vessel was being transferred to Iran’s territorial waters.
Geneva-based MSC later acknowledged the seizure of the ship and said 25 crew were aboard the vessel. MSC said it was working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the wellbeing of the crew and the safe return of the vessel.
“Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further,” R Adm Daniel Hagari said in a statement on Saturday. “Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond,” he said. Reuters report that the comments by Hagari came after the statement was made in reference to the seizure of a vessel on the strait of Hormuz.
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Tehran is conducting piracy and should be sanctioned for it, after seizing an Israeli-affiliated container ship. “The Ayatollah regime of Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’s crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” Katz said.
The body of missing Israeli teenager was found in the occupied West Bank after he was killed in a “terrorist attack”, said the Israeli army on Saturday. The disappearance of 14-year-old Binyamin Achimair sparked a large settler attack on Palestinian villages on Friday and Saturday, where numerous homes and cars were torched. Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant told the public not to “take the law into [their] own hands”, reported the Times of Israel. “I appeal to the public, let the security forces act quickly in the hunt for the terrorists,” Gallant said on X. “Acts of revenge will make it difficult for our soldiers in their mission.”
UK foreign secretary David Cameron spoke to the Israeli minister Benny Gantz on Saturday. Cameron said he had discussed “our shared concerns about Iranian threats to attack Israel” with Gantz. “Further escalation in the region is in no one’s interest and risks further loss of civilian life,” he added.
US president Joe Biden said he expects an Iranian attack on Israel “sooner rather than later” and issued a last-ditch message to Tehran: “Don’t.” “We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden told reporters on Friday. Biden’s comments came as the White House warned that the prospect of an Iranian attack on Israel in retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian consular building in Syria was “still a viable threat”.
Australian airline Qantas said on Saturday it would redirect its long-haul flights between Perth and London to avoid Iran’s airspace amid soaring Middle East tensions. A Qantas spokesperson told AFP the airline would temporarily adjust the flight paths due to “the situation in parts of the Middle East”.
Dutch airline KLM will no longer fly over Israel and Iran, Dutch press agency ANP reported on Saturday, citing a KLM spokesperson. KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said the move was a precaution, but added that it would continue flying to Tel Aviv, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
The Netherlands will close its embassy in Tehran on Sunday as a “precaution”, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, citing the rising tensions between Iran and Israel. The ministry added that it would decide on Sunday whether the embassy would reopen on Monday.
An overnight Israeli attack destroyed the Abu Bakr as-Siddiq mosque and also damaged nearby houses in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, reported Al Jazeera.
At least 33,686 Palestinians have been killed and 76,309 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas. This includes 52 Palestinians that were killed and 95 that were injured in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
An explosive device was detonated in a car in an upmarket neighbourhood of Damascus, Syrian state media said on Saturday, quoting a police source. According to the report, it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blast or who it targeted. The incident happened in the Mazzeh area, where Iran’s embassy and other foreign missions are located.
Ireland and Spain reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state. The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, held bilateral talks in Dublin on Friday and vowed to muster international support for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.
Updated
UK foreign secretary David Cameron says he spoke to the Israeli minister Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and main rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday.
In a social media update on X, Cameron said he had discussed “our shared concerns about Iranian threats to attack Israel” with Gantz. It is unclear whether this was before or after news broke of Iran seizing a ship “linked to Israel” (see 11:51 BST) on the strait of Hormuz.
“Further escalation in the region is in no one’s interest and risks further loss of civilian life,” he added.
Today I spoke with @gantzbe to discuss our shared concerns about Iranian threats to attack Israel.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) April 13, 2024
Further escalation in the region is in no-one's interest and risks further loss of civilian life.
The UK will continue to work with our partners in support of regional security.
