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An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank killed a commander in the Palestinian armed group Hamas on Saturday, Hamas media reported, while Palestinian news agency WAFA said four other men were also killed.
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The identities of the others were not clear, according to the WAFA report, which cited health officials.
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The Israeli military said it had carried out an airstrike against a militant cell around the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
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Hamas media said a vehicle carrying fighters had been struck and that one of the commanders of its Tulkarm brigades was killed.
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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. I’m Tom Ambrose.
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The US military has announced that it will deploy additional fighter jets and navy warships to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Friday, as Washington braces for Iran and its regional allies to make good on a promise to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
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After the back-to-back assassinations of Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut the evening before, international diplomats have scrambled to head off a fully-fledged regional war. Rising tensions have spurred a growing list of major airlines into cancelling flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut, including Lufthansa, Delta and Air India.
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It comes as, on Friday, France urged its citizens to leave Iran and Cyprus and said it had expanded plans to support a large-scale evacuation from the region if the war expands. The island nation helped tens of thousands of people leave during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
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More on that soon, first here’s a summary of the other main headlines:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Important Events
Health Ministry: 39,550 Palestinians killed in Gaza attacks
Since October 7, Israeli military attacks on Gaza have killed at least 39,550 Palestinians and injured 91,128.Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Patrick Winter
Standing next to President Donald Trump in Florida a week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was equivocal about the latest prospects for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“I hope a deal will be reached. Time will tell,” the Israeli prime minister said, two days after delivering a controversial speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
During his three-day visit to the United States, Netanyahu was careful not to make any commitments about the agreement President Biden announced on May 31. While the United States publicly held Hamas responsible for accepting the plan, the administration also knew it would have to privately corner Netanyahu on his insistence on a permanent ceasefire.
But according to U.S. reports, at the very time Netanyahu was publicly speculating about a deal, a remote-controlled bomb had already been smuggled into a Tehran guesthouse, waiting to target Ismail Haniyeh, the senior Hamas figure who was assassinated on Wednesday night.
Haniya said: The New York Times and CNNwas killed by an explosive device planted in a guesthouse where he was reportedly staying while in Iran, which was under the protection of the powerful Revolutionary Guards. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the attack, which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied. It fits a pattern of past targeted killings by Israel on Iranian territory.
Israeli airstrike kills 5, including Hamas commander, in West Bank – Palestinian media
An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank on Saturday killed a Palestinian militant group Hamas commander, Hamas media reported, while Palestinian news agency WAFA said four other men were also killed.
The identities of the other infected people are unknown, WAFA reported, citing health officials.
The Israeli military said it had carried out airstrikes against militant groups around the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
Hamas media reported that a vehicle carrying fighters was attacked, killing one of the Tulkarm Brigade’s commanders.
Summary at the beginning
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Middle East crisis. I’m Tom Ambrose.
The Pentagon said Friday that the U.S. military will send additional fighter jets and naval ships to the Middle East as the United States prepares for a promised response by Iran and its regional allies to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The assassinations of Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut the night before have sent diplomats scrambling to prevent a full-scale regional war. Rising tensions have prompted major airlines, including Lufthansa, Delta and Air India, to cancel flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut.
France urged its nationals to leave Iran and Cyprus and said on Friday it was expanding plans to help with mass evacuations from the region if war escalates. The island nation helped evacuate tens of thousands of people during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
We’ll go into more detail on this shortly, but first, here’s a rundown of some other key headlines:
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Mourners gathered in Doha on Friday for the funeral of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as Iran and its regional allies vowed retaliation against Israel. The bodies of Haniyeh and his bodyguard were placed in a coffin draped with the Palestinian flag, the men knelt in prayer and senior officials from Hamas’ Qatar-based political office paid tribute to Haniyeh’s family.
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The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned and reprimanded Turkey’s deputy ambassador on Friday after the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv flew flags at half-mast following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. “The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for murderers such as Ismail Haniyeh,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
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Concerns over the escalation of conflict in the Middle East have led Poland to advise its citizens not to travel to Lebanon, Israel and Iran, according to updated guidelines published on Friday. “In light of the increase in Polish tourists to Lebanon, Israel and Iran, we would like to reiterate our previous recommendation to refrain from any kind of travel to the region,” the foreign ministry said on social media platform X.
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Hezbollah’s leader said the conflict between the Lebanese group and Israel had entered a “new phase” after successive assassinations of senior commanders and Hamas political leaders threatened to plunge the Middle East into a regional war. At the funeral in Beirut of Hezbollah’s number two, Fouad Shukr, Ayatollah Hassan Nasrallah addressed about 1,000 mourners on television and vowed that powerful Shiite militias would exact revenge.
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US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, would not help Israel achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Biden said he spoke directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early on Thursday, according to Reuters. He made the remarks at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where a plane carrying the detainees released by Russia landed late on Thursday.
