New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel's renewed strikes on Gaza on Tuesday sparked international outcry and demands for it to respect the ceasefire agreement.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he is "shocked" by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and has called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be respected.

Guterres, in a statement, called for humanitarian aid to resume for people in Gaza and for the hostages held by Hamas to be released unconditionally.

Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 400 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it denounces "in the strongest terms" Israel resuming strikes on Gaza, and called on the international community to step in to stop what it described as crimes against the Palestinians.

Also, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani demanded immediate international action to compel Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire, abide by the Gaza ceasefire agreement and return to negotiations.

France called for an immediate halt to the violence, the French Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded Israel as a "terrorist state" feeding on the "blood, lives and tears of innocent" people.

A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, he accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza. He pledged to increase diplomatic efforts to stop the violence and ensure a ceasefire.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israel's attacks on Gaza amounted to a "new phase in its policy of genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to take a determined stance to ensure a ceasefire is upheld and humanitarian aid is delivered. 

In a statement, the ministry added it was unacceptable for Israel to cause a "new cycle of violence" in the region, adding the Israeli government's "hostile approach" threatened the future of the Middle East. 

The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after Israel struck Gaza and hoped that peace would return. 

"Undoubtedly, it's another deterioration in the situation (in Gaza) and another spiral of escalation that is causing our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

"Especially concerning of course are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population," he added. 

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and, of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course." 

The end of the ceasefire in Gaza due to Israeli attacks is cause for grave concern, Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, calling for talks on the second phase of the ceasefire and further hostage releases to resume immediately.
"The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. I emphasize that international law includes the principle of proportionality, even in self defense," Baerbock said in Berlin.
"I have to appeal here, in particular, to the United States, to its regional influence, to its corresponding potential for influence," she added.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the ceasefire to be maintained.

"There’s already been enormous suffering there, which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place," Albanese told reporters.

"We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region," he added.

South Africa said it was "gravely concerned" by the deadly wave of airstrikes in Gaza, and raised doubts about Israel's "commitment to a permanent ceasefire as envisaged in the ceasefire plan brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar."

South Africa’s post-apartheid government has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has filed a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing US ally Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that letting Israel resume its deadly strikes and block all aid to Gaza "poses catastrophic consequences for global peace and security."

The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated.

"Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning ... This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.

The UN human rights chief said he was horrified by Israeli strikes on Gaza. 

"I am horrified by last night's Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy," said High Commissioner Volker Turk in a statement. 

"Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions." 



Israel Defense Minister Says Any Successor to Iran’s Khamenei ‘Target for Assassination’

A sign in tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is displayed on a street, after he was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
A sign in tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is displayed on a street, after he was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Says Any Successor to Iran’s Khamenei ‘Target for Assassination’

A sign in tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is displayed on a street, after he was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
A sign in tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is displayed on a street, after he was killed in Israeli and US strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Wednesday to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.

"Any leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel's destruction, threatening the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppressing the Iranian people, will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides," Katz said in a post on X.

Israel killed the 86-year-old Khamenei in a strike Saturday that started the war.

Israel targeted a building Tuesday associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.


Israel Expands Lebanon Strikes, Killing 11

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Expands Lebanon Strikes, Killing 11

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 4, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel expanded its air strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting the area around the presidential palace near Beirut and other areas south of the capital as well as strongholds of the Iran-backed Hezbollah party, killing at least 11 people.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.

An air strike hit a hotel in Hazmieh on Wednesday, the first reported Israeli attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs near the presidential palace and several embassies.

Some rooms were gutted in the strike, while wounded people received treatment in the lobby, AFP images showed.

People also fled through debris carrying suitcases past the Comfort Hotel's sign, which had fallen broken to the ground. It was not possible to determine who was targeted in the attack.

The southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, were targeted again on Wednesday morning, following an evacuation order from Israel's military.

Smoke rose over the densely populated area, where some residents fled when the violence erupted.

In Aramoun and Saadiyat south of Beirut -- two towns outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds -- the health ministry said Israeli strikes killed six people and wounded eight others. It cautioned that this was a "preliminary toll".

AFP footage from Aramoun showed damaged cars and rescue workers carrying a wounded person on a stretcher.

Strikes also targeted a four-storey building in the city of Baalbek, in Lebanon's east far from the border where Hezbollah also has a strong presence.

Five people were killed, 15 were wounded and three remain missing, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.

One side of the building collapsed. AFP correspondents saw rescue workers searching through the rubble for survivors.

- Ground incursion -

The Israeli military called on people to "immediately" leave 13 towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday morning ahead of strikes against Hezbollah, the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

A similar evacuation warning had earlier been issued for 16 other southern towns and villages.

Hezbollah carried out a series of strikes against Israel on Tuesday, claiming to have targeted sites including the northern Haifa naval base in retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Beirut.

Since Monday, Israeli strikes have killed at least 50 people and wounded 335 in Lebanon, the health ministry said before the overnight strikes.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said three paramedics were killed and six injured "while recovering people injured by explosions" in Lebanon's southern Tyre district.

"Warring parties must abide by international humanitarian law and protect health workers, facilities and patients," he said on X.

Lebanese authorities on Monday recorded the displacement of more than 58,000 people from areas targeted by strikes.

The Israeli military has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until the Lebanese group disarms.

Israeli forces also launched a ground incursion on Tuesday, advancing into a border area in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese army source told AFP.


Drone Downed Near Baghdad Airport

 Security forces fire tear gas to disperse a protest against US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP)
Security forces fire tear gas to disperse a protest against US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP)
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Drone Downed Near Baghdad Airport

 Security forces fire tear gas to disperse a protest against US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP)
Security forces fire tear gas to disperse a protest against US and Israeli attacks on Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP)

A drone was shot down on Wednesday near Baghdad's international airport, a day after a similar attack on the facility, two security sources told AFP.

"A drone was downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported," an Iraqi security source said.

Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.

The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.

Iraq, which recently regained a sense of stability but has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, said it did not want to be dragged into the Middle East war. But it has not been spared.

From the early hours of the campaign against Iran, strikes blamed on the US and Israel hit Iran-backed Iraqi groups, which have vowed not to remain neutral and claimed dozens of drone attacks on US bases.

On Tuesday evening, a drone was intercepted near Baghdad airport, hours after security forces announced that they seized nine rockets and a launchpad that were set up to target the facility.