19 Apr 2024
6.39pm
Iran: “Failed attack, drones shot down and no victims”
“The micro aerial vehicles were shot down without causing any casualties or damage.” This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, speaking about the attack against Isfahan attributed to Israel. “The pro-Israeli media attempted to make a victory out of their failure and exaggerate the issue,” Amirabdollahian told envoys of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the UN in New York, as reported by Iran International. The head of Tehran’s diplomacy reiterated that Iran is ready to decisively strike Israel if it takes measures against the Islamic Republic.
19 Apr 2024
4.54pm
Wafa: “Four Palestinians killed in West Bank”
Wafa reported that four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army operation in Nur Shams, near Tulkarem in the West Bank. According to the reconstruction, “Israeli special forces broke into a house in the Al-Iyada neighborhood of the camp and eliminated 4 young people who had barricaded themselves inside.” It is not yet clear whether or not Salim Faisal Abdel Latif Ghannam (30 years old) whose death had been announced a few hours earlier, was also part of the 4 killed. According to Palestinian media – reported by Israeli media – the latter was the commander of the military wing of Islamic Jihad in Tulkarem.
19 Apr 2024
4.11pm
The USA also launches new sanctions for Jewish settlers
After the EU, the United States also launched new sanctions for the violence against Jewish settlers in the West Bank. The State Department targets Ben Zion Gopstein, founder and leader of Lehava, “an organization whose members are involved in the destabilizing violence affecting the West Bank.” Instead, the Treasury Department targeted two entities, Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich, “for their role in creating fundraising campaigns on behalf of two extremists engaged in violent activities, respectively Yinon Levi and David Chai Chasdai, already sanctioned by the USA”.
19 Apr 2024
3.36pm
Iran: “American or Israeli mini drones used in the attack”
A member of the parliamentary committee on national security, Shahriar Heidari, said that the flying objects targeted by the Iranian defense system were “American or Israeli mini surveillance drones”. “Investigations continue to see if there was any damage during the accident,” Heidari added. The explosions in Isfahan “were linked to an Israeli operation and were ridiculous,” Parliament Presidency Council spokesman Nezameddin Mousavi said. “Israel has accepted their defeat and is pleased with these unsuccessful moves,” he added. According to ISNA, Mousavi also added that Israel is on the verge of collapse and today’s ridiculous operation means that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted his defeat.
19 Apr 2024
3.26pm
EU launches sanctions against violent settlers in West Bank
The EU Council sanctions four individuals and two entities for serious human rights violations against Palestinians, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and violation of the right to property and to private and family life of Palestinians in the West Bank . The designated entities are Lehava, a radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group, and Hilltop Youth, a radical youth group composed of members known for acts of violence against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank. Also on the list are two prominent Hilltop Youth figures, Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered. Both were involved in deadly attacks against Palestinians in 2015 and 2023.
19 Apr 2024
3.07pm
Hamas: “Israel’s aggression against Iran is an escalation”
“Israel’s aggression against Iran is an escalation against the region”: said Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, after news of an Israeli drone attack on an Iranian military site. The Times of Israel reports it.
19 Apr 2024
2.54pm
Iran: “Israel’s desperate attempt has failed”
Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian parliament from Isfahan, says Israel’s “desperate attempt” “with the help of local agents” has “failed and brought them new misfortune.” Al Jazeera reports it. “Let them know that we are ready to protect our dear Iran,” the MP wrote on appear in the sky of the country, they will be targeted by our powerful air defense,” he told IRNA, again by Al Jazeera, before Friday prayers in Tehran.
19 Apr 2024
2.21pm
Guterres: “Stop the cycle of retaliation in the Middle East”
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, after Israel’s attack on Iran “reiterates that the time has come to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East”. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement that the secretary general “condemns any act of retaliation and calls on the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond.” .
19 Apr 2024
2.16pm
Blinken: “Very clear on Rafah, we are against the operation”
“I want to first repeat our approach” which is to “avoid escalation and we ask all parties to monitor their actions”. On Rafah “we were very clear: we cannot be in favor of a military operation in Rafah”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this in a press conference at the end of the G7 Foreign Affairs meeting in Capri. “We believe that the same goals can be achieved with other means.”
19 Apr 2024
1.23pm
EU Commission spokesperson: “No confirmation of Israeli attack”
“We are aware of reports indicating that something may have happened, but we have not seen any official confirmation of an alleged attack” by Israel. “On the contrary, we see signs pointing to de-escalation, something the EU is calling for.” This was said by the spokesperson of the EU Commission for Foreign Affairs Peter Stano, during the press briefing in Brussels.
Tags: Israel attacks Iran drones military base signal hit Tehran plan response direct
