Israel’s strike in central Beirut kills 22 ‘but misses Hezbollah target’ – latest

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there are deep concerns in Asia about the plight of people in Gaza and conflict in the Middle East and stressed Washington is doing everything in its power to prevent those from spreading.

Speaking in Laos after the East Asia Summit, Blinken said concerns about the Middle East came up in conversations with other leaders, during which he reiterated Washington was dedicated to diplomacy to control the situation in the face of what he called an Iranian-led axis of resistance.

“The intense focus of the United States, which has been the case going back a year, and doing just that, (is) preventing these conflicts from spreading. And we’re working on that every day,” Blinken told a press conference.

“We’re working very hard through deterrence and through diplomacy to prevent that from happening. There’s also obviously deep concern that we share about the plight of children, women, and men in Gaza, who for now a year have been caught in a terrible crossfire of Hamas’ instigation.”

Blinken also said the United States was directly engaged with Israel to stress how imperative it was that the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza are met.

Israel had the right to defend itself from attacks from Hezbollah, he added, and like the United States, it had a clear and legitimate interest in creating an environment where tens of thousands of displaced people in southern Lebanon can return to their homes.

“It’s also vitally important that in doing that, they focus on making sure that civilians are protected and, again, are not being caught in a terrible crossfire,” he said.

Israel claims to have killed another Hezbollah commander after reports of fighting this morning in southern Lebanon.

The military wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday morning that they had killed Araeb el Shoga, a commander in the Hezbollah Radwan Forces’ anti-tank missile unit.

They said he was killed in Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon, adding that he was responsible for “numerous anti-tank missile attacks in northern Israel”.

Earlier this morning, the Israeli military said they had detected one anti-tank missile fired from southern Lebanon across the border into Kibbutz Yaraon, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The publication said a 27-year-old man from Thailand was killed while two more people were injured.

The US still believes that Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon despite Tehran’s recent strategic setbacks, two US officials told Reuters.

The comments from a senior Joe Biden administration official and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) added to public remarks earlier this week by CIA Director William Burns, who said the United States had not seen any evidence Iran’s leader had reversed his 2003 decision to suspend the weaponization program.

“We assess that the Supreme Leader has not made a decision to resume the nuclear weapons program that Iran suspended in 2003,” said the ODNI spokesperson, referring to Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

US officials have long acknowledged that an attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program might only delay the country’s efforts to develop a nuclear bomb and could even strengthen Tehran’s resolve to do so.

“We’re all watching this space very carefully,” the Biden administration official said.

Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati said on Thursday that the United States and France are trying to revive a ceasefire deal for the Middle East.

“There are contacts taking place between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire declaration for a specific period in order to resume the search for political solutions,” he is quoted as saying, according to Reuters.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah yesterday supported calls for a ceasefire, and dropped a Gaza truce from their ceasefire conditions.

“We support the political efforts led by (Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire. Once the ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” Deputy Secretery General Naim Qassem said.

But Israel’s invasion of Lebanon continues, and Netanyahu told the people of Hezbollah to throw out Hezbollah if they want to avoid the “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza”.

Nelson Mandela’s grandson, who has been supportive of the Hamas militant group, claimed he was “prevented” from entering the UK, where he was due to address a series of pro-Patestine events.

Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela said he was forced to cancel his flight after he did not receive a UK visa in time for his departure.“It seems that there are those who are intent on preventing me from being physically with you [in Britain],” he said yesterday, according to Middle East Eye.

The “struggle against Apartheid and against colonisation cannot be stopped or silenced”, he added.

A group called Sheffield Palestine Coalition against Israeli Apartheid said Mr Mandela was “prevented from traveling to the UK”.

British officials initially told Mr Mandela that his South African government passport did not require a visa to enter the UK, according to the group.

However, on Monday, he was informed that he did require a visa, it added.

Despite high level approaches from senior figures, the British embassy has not relented or issued a visa, the group claimed.

More than 42,065 Palestinians have been killed and 97,886 injured in Israel’s bombardment and invasion of Gaza since October 7, when Hamas carried out attacks in souther Israel, Gaza’s health ministry said on Thursday.

On Thursday, 28 people were killed and 54 injured in a major airstrike on a school in Gaza, which Israel says was targeting Hamas militants.

The commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards is under investigation for allegedly spying for Israel, according to reports.

Esmail Qaani has not been seen in public since 4 October when Israeli forces struck a bunker in Beirut where he was believed to be meeting Hezbollah members.

Qaani suffered a heart attack during his interrogation and was hospitalised, Middle East Eye reported, citing sources.