Middle East latest: Israel bracing for attack after Hamas leader killed - as Britons in Lebanon told: 'Leave now' (2024)

We're pausing our live coverage for the day, but we'll return if there are any major developments later.

Before we go, here is a recap of what's been happening today as tensions rise in the Middle East:

• Israel is bracing for a potential multiday attack by Iran and Hezbollah, an Israeli official has told our US partner network NBC;
• The UK, US, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have all recommended its nationals vacate Lebanon as soon as possible;
• Ultra-Orthodox Jews have clashed with Israeli police over a supreme court ruling saying their previous draft exemptions were illegal;
• Lebanon has received emergency medical supplies to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries. The World Health Organisation has delivered 32 tonnes of medical supplies;
• Israel returned the bodies of 84 Palestinians to Gaza, though Hamas says none are identifiable and were left in a "state of complete decomposition";
• Israel says it has killed Abdul Fattah Al-Zurai'i - an official in the Hamas-run government in Gaza who it says was involved in militant activities.
  

Israel hasn't ruled out sending its government to a command bunker that sits underneath the Jerusalem hills amid fear of attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.

The bunker, known as the National Management Centre, was built after the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

It can hold hundreds of people and can reportedly sustain hits from a range of existing weaponry, while it is connected to the headquarters of Israel's defence ministry.

A spokesman for Israel's government was asked today whether the prime minister's office had activated the bunker amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

"I think, like almost every single government or any responsible government around the world, Israel does have procedures to protect the government of this country in times of difficulty," said David Mencer.

"Israel is, of course, no different, and we've had those things in place for many years now.

"This is a tough neighbourhood to live in, perhaps the toughest neighbourhood in the entire world to live in.

"We have unfortunately become used to genocidal terrorist regimes, organisations, but also genocidal countries like Iran that seek our destruction."

Israel is hoping it can band together another coalition of countries to help defend it from whatever attack Iran has planned.

There are fears in Israel that Iran is planning an attack with "waves of missiles and drones" fired over several days into the country (see 08.39am post).

The last time Iran openly attacked Israel was in April, when a coalition of countries including Britain, the US, France, and allied Arab states helped intercept missiles fired into the country.

Prior to that attack, Iran provided warning of what was to follow, giving Israel and its allies time to get military preparations in place.

But according to ourMiddle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall, it doesn't look like Iran will be so generous this time around.

"They are probably more likely to launch an attack without any forewarning," he says.

"Last time in April, they took about 13 days before launching an attack that kept Israelis on edge. That is happening again. This time, the country is very tense awaiting that."

This video report has more...

Earlier, we brought you news that Israel had returned the bodies of 84 Palestinians to Gaza (see 2.00pm post).

Hamas has since released a statement on its Telegram channel saying that none of the bodies are identifiable as they are in a "state of complete decomposition".

This, the group says, is an attempt from Israel to "double the suffering" of the families of the deceased who want to know the fate of their loved ones.

Hamas has called on the international community to "reject and denounce" what it has labelled as "heinous inhuman practices".

Foreign nationals have been told to leave Lebanon, with many expecting the Hezbollah group based there to be involved in the Iranian response to Israel over the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

The UK, US, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have recommended its nationals vacate the country as soon as possible.

"Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly," David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said onSaturday.

This video report has more...

A group focused on the safe return of Israeli hostages has released an angry statement in response to Palestinian reports that Israel returned more than 80 bodies to Gaza.

Weam Fares, a spokesperson for the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, said today that 84 bodies were handed over at the Kerem Shalom crossing and were taken directly for burial.

"How can it be that the state of Israel gives 80 bodies and receives zero in return?" the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

"How is it possible that the state of Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu, is returning bodies that are not part of a deal? What about our family members, how long will they be held captive by Hamas in Gaza?

"The prime minister actually shows maximum determination and efficiency in returning the bodies of the Gazans to their families."

There are 115 hostages believed to be held in Gaza, including 41 whose deaths have been confirmed by Israeli authorities. Of the total, 111 were abducted on 7 October.

Last week, the families of hostages held in Gaza held a march and rally in Tel Aviv, where the Hebrew words "300 days in abandonment" were lit up in flames on the beach.

Iran is purposefully delaying its retaliation against Israel to sow fear and give itself more time to coordinate, ourMiddle East correspondent Alistair Bunkallsays.

Israel has been blamed by Iran for killing Hamas's political leader in Tehran last week, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing revenge and saying it was Iran's "duty" to avenge the assassination.

It is expected to retaliate with a multiday attack on Israel. This will come from multiple fronts, including from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north, the Houthis in Yemen to the south and proxies loyal to Iran in Syria and Iraq to the east.

Organising such an attack undoubtedly takes time and strict coordination, which is one reason why a large attack has not yet come.

Another reason is that Iran is able to sow fear into Israelis and the Lebanese, who are anxiously speculating over what might be on the horizon.

"The wait for Iran's response is in part deliberate, I think," says Bunkall.

"The Iranians know that it sort of plays into the psychology of Israelis as they speculate what might be coming.

"It's also because I think the Iranians are trying to decide exactly what their response is going to be, how to coordinate it with Hezbollah and other proxies.

"The delay does give particularly the Americans time to get more military assets into the region, to provide a defensive layer for Israel too."

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, said today that Tehran was not seeking a wider conflict in the region, but added that "punishing Israel is necessary".

Despite Iran's attempt to downplay the idea it would spark an all-out regional war, Bunkall says that decision might now be out of politicians' hands.

"It would not take a very big Iranian retaliation, or from Hezbollah, to force the region into an uncontrollable war," he added.

"And even though that's not what everybody wants, sometimes these events have a habit of running out of the control of the politicians and the commanders who try to orchestrate them."

Israel says it has killed an official in the Hamas-run government in Gaza who was involved in militant activities.

Hamas confirmed that Abdul Fattah Al-Zurai'i was killed alongside his mother in an airstrike yesterday. The statement identified him as the undersecretary of its economy ministry, with no reference to any militant roles.

Israel's Defence Forces identified him as the economy minister and said he also worked in the manufacturing department of Hamas's armed wing.

The IDF also said he had a "significant role" in directing efforts to seize control of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and that he was responsible for the distribution of fuel, gas and funds for "terrorist purposes".

In its own statement announcing his death, Hamas said the killing would not deter it from "performing our national duty towards our Palestinian people".

Lebanon has received emergency medical supplies today to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries.

Tensions in the region have spiralled in the past week after the killings of Hamas's political leader in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

Iran and Hezbollah have vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killings, prompting concerns that violence could escalate into a full-blown regional war.

Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where most of the exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli military have taken place, have struggled to cope with wounded patients over the past 10 months.

Today, the World Health Organisation delivered 32 tonnes of medical supplies to Lebanon's health ministry, including at least 1,000 trauma kits.

"The goal is to get these supplies and medicines to various hospitals and to the health sector in Lebanon, especially in the places most exposed [to hostilities] so that we can be ready to deal with any emergency," said Lebanon's health minister Firass Abiad.

Israel's finance minister says that blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza might be "justified and moral" even if it causes two million civilians to die of hunger.

Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent leader of the nationalist-religious bloc within Benjamin Netanyahu's government, complained that international pressure meant Israel had "no choice" but to bring in aid.

Speaking at a news conference in Israel, he said the main factor extending the war was the aid sustaining Hamas.

"We can't, in the current global reality, manage a war," said Mr Gallant.

"Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral, until our hostages are returned.

"Humanitarian in exchange for humanitarian is morally justified, but what can we do? We live today in a certain reality, we need international legitimacy for this war."