Joe Biden says US and Israel ‘discussing’ strikes on Iranian oil
Joe Biden has said he is discussing possible Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil production, sending crude prices spiking just a month before the US presidential election.
Oil jumped five per cent after his comments jolted markets, even though the United States president ruled out immediate retaliation from Israel for Tehran’s missile barrage earlier this week.
When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Mr Biden replied: “We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway.”
A rise in oil prices and the cost of living could become a significant electoral liability for Mr Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, as she fights a close presidential race against Donald Trump.
Mr Biden added: “First of all, we don’t ‘allow’ Israel, we advise Israel. And there is nothing going to happen today.”
His comments came only 24 hours after he had said any Israeli retaliation should be “proportional”.
The situation in the Middle East had earlier appeared to escalate further when the Lebanese army returned fire at Israeli forces for the first time in more than a year.
Lebanon’s army said it had fired back after two soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes along their shared border.
The army, which has close UK ties and millions of pounds of British support and training, has for the past year kept out of artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah.
One soldier was killed during an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village.
Another was killed after the Israeli enemy targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area, the army said and “the personnel at the post responded to the sources of fire”.
The military is often overshadowed by Hezbollah forces and the country’s economic crisis has left it struggling to pay soldiers’ wages, but it is still seen by many Lebanese as a unifying institution.
Sources close to the army told The Telegraph its leadership had last year given soldiers orders to keep out of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
However once targeted, it had little option but to respond, said experts.
Lina Khatib, of London’s Chatham House think tank, said: “The targeting of the Lebanese army is an important escalation as it flies in the face of Israel’s claim that its fight is with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese people.
“The Lebanese army has huge respect among all Lebanon’s communities who see it as the only trustworthy national institution.
“The army cannot be seen to be standing still after Israel attacks it.”
Israel’s military also released footage of reservists operating in southern Lebanon in recent days. Troops with the Etzioni Brigade were the first reserve brigade to enter Lebanon amid the ongoing war.
At least 28 on-duty medics have been killed in the past 24 hours, the World Health Organization chief said.
“Many (other) health workers are not reporting to duty and fled the areas where they work due to bombardments,” director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The Israel Defence Forces said they had confirmed the death of the de facto Hamas prime minister of Gaza Strip in another air strike three months ago.
Rawhi Mushtaha was described as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s “right-hand man and one of his closest associates.”
The IDF also said they had killed a Palestinian man infamous for his role in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah nearly 25 years ago.
An image of Aziz Salha in 2000 displaying his bloodied hands to a mob in the early weeks of the Second Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, became a defining image of the conflict.
Two reservist soldiers were killed in October 2000 after taking a wrong turn and ending up in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Ramallah in the West Bank. A police station where they were held was overrun by a mob.
Salha was killed in a strike in Gaza, Israel said.
Israel’s military and intelligence agencies said he had been targeted three months ago while hiding in a fortified tunnel, along with Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio in Hamas’s political bureau, and Sami Odeh, the head of Hamas’s “general security mechanism.”
Satellite pictures meanwhile, showed that Iranian missiles hit a hangar and caused craters at Israel’s Nevatim air base.
The Planet Labs image, published by the Associated Press, showed four potential impacts at the base in southern Israel, one of three military facilities the Iranians claimed to have targeted.
Analysis of video imagery from Tuesday’s attack suggested the two other bases, one north of Tel Aviv and one south, may also have been hit or come close to being hit, said geo-location specialists.
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves warned that escalating tensions in the Middle East posed “a very real risk both to the UK and to the global economy”, adding that the spike in oil could push up prices and exert a drag on the economy.
“There’s a risk on inflation and on GDP,” the Chancellor told reporters. “I think so far the impacts are being contained. But obviously we’ve got to keep an eye on these things.”
Echoing concerns by Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, Ms Reeves said: “The biggest impact so far in terms of the economics of what’s happening in the Middle East is on shipping costs because people are having to divert from using the Red Sea. “
She added that while the focus remained on hostages trapped in Gaza and “people who have been uprooted and lost their lives”, she said that “obviously, for the UK and other countries around the world, there is also an economic impact”.
05:57 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thanks for following our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. It has now ended.
Here’s the latest from today:
The Lebanese ambassador to the UK has said that “Hezbollah has not been committing violence”
A man known for his role in the lynching of two IDF reservists in 2000 was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza
UK charters more flights to help Britons leave Lebanon
Israel’s military ordered the evacuation of 25 villages in southern Lebanon
Israel said it has assassinated Rawhi Mushtaha,, the “right-hand man” of Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar
Israel is suspected of launching missiles overnight into Syria, striking close to a Russian air base believed to house weapons for Iran
Joe Biden appeared to stutter when telling reporters on Thursday that the US and Israel were “discussing” a strike on Iran’s oil facilities
We’ll be back with more updates and analysis soon.
05:54 PM BST
‘Bugging device found in bathroom after Netanyahu visit’
A listening device was found in Boris Johnson’s personal bathroom at the Foreign Office after it had been used by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister has claimed.
Mr Johnson has alleged that when the Israeli Prime Minister visited his department in 2017, his security team found bugging devices in the toilets after he had used the facilities.
During their meeting in his old office, Mr Johnson says Mr Netanyahu, who he calls Bibi, excused himself to go to the bathroom, which Mr Johnson describes as similar to “the gents in a posh London club” which exist within a “secret annexe”.
Read the full story here.
05:40 PM BST
Islamic Resistance in Syria claims attack in southern Israel
The Islamic Resistance in Syria has claimed a drone attack in southern Israel (see 16:54 post).
A drone was shot down by the Israeli air force over southern Israel, the IDF said this afternoon.
05:21 PM BST
British Airways cancels London-Tel Aviv flights
British Airways flights between London and Tel Aviv have been cancelled until the end of the month, the airline has revealed.
“We … have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights to Tel Aviv up to and including Saturday 26 October 2024,” the company said in a statement.
05:19 PM BST
Yazidi woman freed from Gaza after decade in captivity
A 21-year-old woman kidnapped by ISIS in Iraq more than a decade ago was freed from Gaza this week in an operation involving the United States and Israel, officials said.
The rescue also involved Jordan and Iraq, according to officials.
05:04 PM BST
‘The wider war is already here’
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser has urged the Joe Biden administration to allow Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
John Bolton’s comments come after Mr Biden said “no” to striking the facilities.
“Even if that’s his opinion, why do you tell Israel’s adversary, and by the way, America’s adversary in Tehran, what you’re not going to do?, ” Mr Bolton told CNN, adding: “let them worry about it.”
“I think the administration is paralyzed by this fear of wider war … the wider war is already here,” he added.
04:54 PM BST
Drone intercepted over southern Israel
A drone was shot down by the Israeli air force over southern Israel, the IDF said this afternoon.
The military did not specify where it was launched from, or what part of the south it was intercepted in.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
04:35 PM BST
Israel kills another Hezbollah commander
Israel said it has killed the Hezbollah commander who was responsible for an attack on a football pitch which killed 12 children in the Golan Heights in July.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), acting on IDF intelligence, IAF fighter jets eliminated Khider al Shaebia, the terrorist who was responsible for the attack in Majdal Shams,” the IDF said today.
“Khider commanded the Har Dov area in the Hezbollah terrorist organisation.”
Khider was also responsible for “hundreds of rocket and anti-tank missile launches at IDF posts in the area of Har Dov, Mount Hermon, and the northern Golan Heights,” the IDF added.
Read about what happened in July here.
04:27 PM BST
In pictures: Civilians arrive home after Lebanon evacuation
04:18 PM BST
Watch: Biden says US and Israel ‘discussing’ oil strikes
Joe Biden appeared to stutter when telling reporters on Thursday that the US and Israel were “discussing” a strike on Iran’s oil facilities.
“We’re discussing that,” he told reporters, before adding: “I think that would be a little...anyway.”
04:07 PM BST
Hezbollah claims strike on Israeli troops
Hezbollah says it has struck against Israeli troops in the village of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, inflicting casualties.
Similar reports emerged yesterday ahead of the IDF confirming eight deaths.
“What we’re hearing is that the Israelis have attempted to enter that village, and they have faced stiff resistance from Hezbollah fighters who say that they have confronted them and they have used explosive devices,” reported Assed Baig, a reporter for Aljazeera in Riyaq, Lebanon, citing Hezbollah.
“They claim that Israeli soldiers have had casualties, and their helicopters are currently in the south, trying to evacuate those soldiers”.
03:47 PM BST
Lebanese army fires at Israeli troops for first time
Lebanon’s army said it returned Israeli fire for the first time in nearly a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after a second soldier was killed by Israeli fire on Thursday.
Experts said the casualties among the Lebanese forces, rather than among the Hezbollah militia, could mark a significant escalation.
A statement on the incident read: “A soldier was killed after the Israeli enemy targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area - in the south, and the personnel at the post responded to the sources of fire.”
A military official told AFP this was the first response to Israeli fire since last October because the post had been “directly” hit.
Lina Khatib, of London’s Chatham House think tank said: “The targeting of the Lebanese army is an important escalation as it flies in the face of Israel’s claim that its fight is with Hezbollah not the Lebanese people and that it seeks the implementation of UNSCR 1701, which stipulates that only the Lebanese Armed Forces should be deployed south of the Litani River.
“The Lebanese army has huge respect among all Lebanon’s communities who see it as the only trustworthy national institution.The army cannot be seen to be standing still after Israel attacks it.”
03:28 PM BST
Israel strike suspected near Russian air base in Syria
Israel is suspected of launching missiles overnight into Syria, striking close to a Russian air base believed to house weapons for Iran, writes Iona Cleave.
Up to 30 missiles were said to have targeted an area near to Khmeimim air base, near the coastal city of Latakia, triggering a series of huge explosions.
Video footage showed streaks of bright orange light in the night sky, as air defences attempted to intercept the missiles. A huge blaze could be seen for miles close to Khmeimim.
There also appeared to be secondary explosions, suggesting that weapons or munitions had been hit.
Read the full story here.
03:13 PM BST
Mapped: Israel’s ground incursion into southern Lebanon
03:09 PM BST
Watch: Spanish plane evacuates some 200 people from Beirut
Spain said on Wednesday that it would send two military planes to Beirut to begin evacuating its citizens who wanted to leave the country.
02:59 PM BST
Israel confirms assassination of Palestinian known for historic lynching of Israeli soldiers
Earlier, Palestinian media reported that a man known for his role in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers in 2000 had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza (see our post at 8.46am).
Israel has now confirmed that the man, Aziz Salha, 43, was killed in a targeted strike on central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.
Salha was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 for taking part in the murder of two Israel Defence Forces reservists. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011.
He became notorious in Israel due to a photograph of him proudly displaying his blood-stained hands to a crowd of onlookers.
Israel said that Salha had been involved in planning terror attacks in the West Bank from Gaza in recent years.
02:51 PM BST
Watch: Israeli military ‘strikes Hezbollah intelligence headquarters’
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters in the Beirut area on Thursday, the IDF said.
The IDF said the warplanes targeted command centres, surveillance equipment and other infrastructure.
Lebanese media said a strike was reported in Kayfoun in the hills above Beirut.
02:15 PM BST
Watch: IDF troops in action in southern Lebanon
02:11 PM BST
IDF: Palestinian knifeman shot dead in West Bank
A Palestinian armed with a knife was shot dead by Israeli troops at the entrance to a military base in Hebron in the West Bank, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
No injuries to IDF personnel were recorded, it added.
01:59 PM BST
Israel assassinates Hamas leader’s right-hand man
Israel said it has assassinated the “right-hand man” of Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar.
Rawhi Mushtaha, the head of Hamas’s government in Gaza, was killed alongside two other senior officials, Sameh al-Siraj and Sami Oudeh in strikes three months ago, Israel Defence Forces said in a statement.
They were “hiding” in an underground compound said to be used by top leadership in the northern Gaza Strip, it added. Hamas did not announce their deaths after the attack to “prevent loss of morale and the functioning of its terror operatives”.
“Mushtaha was one of Hamas’ most senior operatives and had a direct impact on decisions relating to Hamas’ force deployment,” the IDF said, adding that he had established their internal security mechanism.
Hamas did not announce their deaths after the attack to “prevent loss of morale and the functioning of its terror operatives,” it added.
01:38 PM BST
Lebanese army ‘returns fire at Israeli forces’
Lebanese forces have fired at Israeli troops for the first time since Hezbollah’s war with Israel began in October, according to the Lebanese military.
In a statement, the Lebanese army said troops at a base in the Bint Jbeil area returned fire after a soldier was killed in an Israeli attack.
12:51 PM BST
Pictured: Displaced civilians flee Lebanon for Syria
12:29 PM BST
Hezbollah using civilian crossing to smuggle weapons, IDF says
Hezbollah is using the Masnaa civilian crossing on Lebanon’s Syrian border to smuggle weapons into the country, Israel’s military has said, warning that it will not allow the group to continue to receive weapons via the route.
“The state of Lebanon is responsible for its official border crossings and its ability to prevent Hezbollah from [using] these crossings,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
“If necessary, [the IDF] will not hesitate to act, just as it has done during the entire war,” it added.
The Israeli military last week struck other border crossings used by Hezbollah for weapon shipments, an IDF spokesman said.
12:11 PM BST
Pictured: Iran unveils huge missile attack billboard
Iranians drive past a billboard in Tehran with an image depicting a missile attack on Israel.
“If you want war, we are masters of war,” reads the slogan at the top in Farsi.
The slogan underneath, in Hebrew, reads: “Israel must be wiped from the face of the earth and this is the beginning of the story.”
11:56 AM BST
Lebanese soldier killed in Israeli strike, army says
A Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured as a result of an Israeli attack, the Lebanese army said, adding that they were carrying out a rescue and evacuation mission when they came under fire.
The incident occurred in the border town of Taybeh - Marjeyoun, the army added.
11:40 AM BST
Pictured: Damaged hanger at Israel’s Nevatim Air Base
A satellite image shows what appears to be a large hole in the roof of a hanger at Israel’s Nevatim Air Base.
The airfield was reportedly hit during Iran’s missile bombardment of Israel on Monday night. Videos posted on social media showed several apparent missile impacts on the base.
11:29 AM BST
Angry mob attacks foreign journalists in Beirut
Two Belgian journalists were badly hurt overnight in Beirut when they were attacked by an angry mob as they filmed the aftermath of Israeli strikes.
A reporter and a cameraman for VTM News were beaten and then interrogated for hours as they visited the scene of a strike in the centre of the Lebanese capital.
Stijn De Smet, the cameraman, is being treated in hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg and Robin Ramaekersis, the reporter, is being treated for facial fractures, VRT NWS reported.
In a video clip purporting to show the incident in the early hours of Thursday, members of a crowd could be heard shouting that they had caught a “spy”.
Nicholas Lataire, director of News City, which includes VTM Nieuws and Het Laatste Nieuws, said: “We are in contact with Robin and Stijn and also with their families. The Belgian embassy has also been called in and is supporting our colleagues on site. We are doing everything we can to bring them home as soon as possible.”
11:20 AM BST
Israel orders evacuation of 25 Lebanese villages
Israel’s military has ordered the evacuation of 25 villages in southern Lebanon.
The announcement signals a possible expansion of Israel’s air campaign against Hezbollah targets that is said to have killed over 1,000 people in under two weeks.
11:02 AM BST
American killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon
An American citizen has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Lebanon while visiting the country to look after his elderly mother.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed on Tuesday in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, his family said, adding that he chose to remain near a hospital to try to “save innocent lives”.
He spent his last days helping the elderly, disabled, injured and poor with food, mattresses and other comforts, the family added.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our hearts go out to his family and friends. His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon,” a White House spokesman said.
Jawad was in Lebanon taking care of his elderly mother, according to the Detroit News. His friend Hamzah Raza and local Dearborn groups on social media said he was killed in an Israeli air strike and called him “one of the kindest and most generous humans.”
Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
10:36 AM BST
IRGC consultant killed in Israeli strike, Iranian news agency says
A “consultant” to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has died due to an Israeli attack in Damascus, Syria, Iran’s Student News Network (SNN) has said.
SNN named the consultant as Majid Diwani and said he was taking part in an “advisory mission”. He died of his injuries three days after the Israeli strike, it added.
An Israeli strike on a residential building in the Mezzah suburb in western Damascus was widely reported on Monday.
When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said that it does not comment on foreign media reports.
10:26 AM BST
Watch: Israeli air strike lands feet away from Lebanese parliament in Beirut
09:43 AM BST
IDF: 60 Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon
Israel has killed some 60 Hezbollah fighters over the past day in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
The IDF also said that more than 200 Hezbollah targets had been struck by Israeli air force jets during ground operations in southern Lebanon.
The targets included buildings used by the terror group, operatives, weapon depots, observation posts and other infrastructure, the IDF added.
09:08 AM BST
Pictured: Israel strikes Beirut’s Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs
09:04 AM BST
UK charters more flights to help Britons leave Lebanon
The Government has chartered more flights from Lebanon to help British nationals leave the country.
Flights will depart from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport from Thursday and will continue for as long as the security situation allows, the Foreign Office said.
The move comes after more than 150 British nationals and dependents left Beirut on a Government chartered flight yesterday.
08:51 AM BST
Pictured: Aftermath of overnight Israeli strikes on Hezbollah-controlled Beirut suburb
08:46 AM BST
Man known for historic lynching of IDF reservists ‘killed in Israeli air strike’
A man known for his role in the lynching of two IDF reservists in 2000 has been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, Palestinian media has reported.
Aziz Salha was killed in a strike in the centre of the Gaza Strip, the reports said. It is not known whether he was specifically targeted.
Salha was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 for taking part in the murder of two IDF reservists. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011.
He became notorious in Israel due to a photograph of him proudly displaying his blood-stained hands to a crowd of onlookers.
08:39 AM BST
Israeli ministers and lawmakers praise eight soldiers killed fighting Hezbollah
As per tradition, Israeli TV and Radio opened their broadcast announcing the deaths of the soldiers, the largest number since Israel officially announced its ground incursion into southern Lebanon on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement as the Jewish new year, Rosh Ha’shanah kicked in, extending his “deepest condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon. May God avenge them. May their memory be a blessing”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also reacted to their death, saying it broke the hearts of the nation.
A video clip of 22-year-old Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, a squad commander in the elite Egoz unit, went viral on social media after his death was announced,
“The north is burnt and abandoned, that’s one of the things that were most difficult for me. We prepared a lot, and these are the values I was taught at home, and now it’s time for our mission – to bring the northern residents home,” Mr Oster is heard saying.
Several lawmakers shared the clip, including Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who called on people to listen to what the young soldier had to say before he entered Lebanon.
“We are in the midst of a difficult war in which our young generation is standing with supreme bravery knowing clearly what they are fighting for. A war that, despite the heavy costs, we have the duty to end with a decisive decision - for the sake of future generations,” Mr Chickli wrote on X.
08:08 AM BST
Hezbollah has not been committing violence, Lebanese ambassador says
The Lebanese ambassador to the UK has said that “Hezbollah has not been committing violence”.
“I condemn any act of violence, but Hezbollah has not been committing violence,” Rami Mortada told the BBC’s Today programme.
“They [Hezbollah] were firing exclusively at military targets,” he added, referring to the group’s rocket attacks on northern Israel that began on October 8.
He went on to say that Lebanon had been trying to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the region, but the “hotheads” in Israel “chose a different path”.
Asked if he would describe Hezbollah as ‘hotheads’, Mr Mortada said: “Hezbollah they have [their] modus operandi, it’s a Lebanese matter. Now they are in a self-defence posture.”
07:45 AM BST
Welcome to our live coverage
Welcome to our live coverage. We’ll be keeping you up to date with the day’s events as they happen.