Israel will listen to the United States but will decide its actions according to its own national interest, said the Israeli Prime Minister's office in a statement issued today.
The statement clarifies the claims made that Benjamin Netanyahu had told the administration of President Joe Biden that Israel would target Iranian military, not nuclear or oil-related sites, following the Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1. These claims suggested a more limited counterstrike aimed at preventing a large-scale war.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council expressed its "strong concern" after Israel fired and injured several UN peacekeepers in UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, where clashes have intensified. The council reiterated its support for the peacekeeping mission to maintain security in the region. Antonio Guterres confirmed that the peacekeepers will remain in their positions despite Israel urging them to move 5 kilometers further north due to its ground invasion in Lebanon.
The commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, reappeared in footage on Iranian state television after speculation that he might have been injured in the Israeli airstrikes on Beirut.
Qaani was seen wearing a black bomber jacket, wiping away tears at an event early Tuesday morning at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport.
Qaani reappears at the funeral of the Revolutionary Guard brigadier general
The head of the Iranian Quds Forces, General Esmail Qaani, (left) at the funeral of the Revolutionary Guard brigadier general, Abbas Nilforushan.ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH | EFE
The head of the Iranian Quds Forces, General Esmail Qaani, (right) gestures at the funeral of the Revolutionary Guard brigadier general, Abbas Nilforushan.AFP
Qaani, head of the Quds Force, seen at Tehran airport, wiping away tears
For weeks, rumors circulated about the status of General Esmail Qaani, head of the expeditionary arm of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, following the Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah in Beirut at the end of September.
But Qaani, head of the Quds Force, was seen wearing a black bomber jacket, wiping away tears at an event early Tuesday morning at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, according to Ap.
Families remain trapped in their homes and shelters in Yabalia
In northern Gaza, where Israel has been conducting an aerial and ground campaign in Jabaliya for over a week, residents said families remained trapped in their homes and shelters.
Israeli attacks in southern Gaza killed at least 15 people overnight, including six children and two women, according to Palestinian medical officials reported on Tuesday, Ap.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not specify how many were combatants but claim that women and children account for over half of the casualties. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced nearly 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.
Over 40 Palestinians killed in Gaza in new Israeli attacks overnight
Over 40 Palestinians have died in the past hours in new Israeli attacks that reached from north to south of the Gaza Strip, confirmed local sources to Efe.
The most affected point remains Yabalia in the northern enclave, with airstrikes and incursions by Israeli troops that resumed over ten days ago.
During this night, the Israeli offensive in this area left about 17 people dead, including women and children, and several more were injured.
The Israeli army, on the other hand, stated on Tuesday that in the last day, they "eliminated dozens of terrorists" in the Yabalia area.
Iranian president leads funeral of Revolutionary Guard general in Tehran
The President of Iran, Masud Pezeshkian, accompanied by thousands of people, led the funeral of the Revolutionary Guard brigadier general, Abbas Nilforushan, killed in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut.
In the front row of the funeral, held in central Tehran, were Pezeshkian, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard, General Hosein Salami, and the commander of the Quds Force of the elite Iranian military corps, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, who reappeared in public after several weeks of speculation about his health, as shown in state television images.
Thousands of people accompanied the authorities, waving the flags of Iran, Palestine, and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which along with Palestinians from Hamas, Yemen's Houthis, and Iraqi militias, form the anti-Israel alliance Axis of Resistance, led by Tehran, reports Efe.
"Death to Israel" and "death to the United States" could be heard as usual at these state-organized events.
Protesters also carried pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, killed alongside Nilforushan in Israeli airstrikes on the suburbs of Beirut on September 27.
United States urges its nationals to leave Lebanon
The US Embassy in Lebanon strongly encouraged its citizens to leave the country immediately, warning them that additional flights arranged by the government to help US citizens leave the country since September 27 would not continue indefinitely, Reuters reports.
US sends THAAD battery to Israel to shoot down Iranian missiles
The United States has fully engaged in the indirect war between Israel and Iran (through their allies). Not only will it provide THAAD batteries (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), but these highly sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles, the best of Washington's military technology, will be operated by US soldiers in the Middle East, reports Alberto Rojas.
About 115 projectiles fired by Hezbollah crossed from Lebanon into Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting a military base in central Israel where four soldiers died on Sunday from a Hezbollah drone attack, said Israel would continue to attack the Iran-backed movement