Israel calls for evacuation in east Lebanon as Iran vows retaliation for attacks

IN BRIEF

• The Israeli military has called for the evacuation of the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon, warning it was ready to strike Hezbollah targets and in nearby Douris. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran's Supreme Leader vowed retaliation for attacks by Israel, as an Israeli military official said naval commandos seized a suspected Hezbollah operative in a raid on Lebanon. READ MORE BELOW

• Thousands of Iranians gathered in the center of the capital Tehran and across the country on Sunday to mark the 45th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage-taking. READ MORE BELOW

• Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster, is believed to have been detained by Iran for some months, according to the Associated Press. READ MORE BELOW

• Israeli forces stepped up bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Sunday killing at least 23 people, Palestinian medics said.

• The Israeli military said on Saturday two more Israeli soldiers had been killed in the southern Gaza Strip and that the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Palestinian enclave since October 2023 had risen to 780.

• American B-52 fighter jets have arrived in the Middle East, the U.S. armed forces said, a day after the Pentagon announced new military deployments to "defend Israel" and warn Iran.

• The World Health Organization said four children were among six people injured Saturday in a strike on a polio vaccination center in northern Gaza.

• The Gaza Health Ministry has reported 43,341 Palestinians have been killed and 102,105 injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

• Senior officials of the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss forming a committee to manage Gaza's post-war governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted by Egyptian TV. 

• Türkiye has pledged to deepen its relations with Africa, calling on it to provide diplomatic support to the Palestinians, at a summit with African countries in Djibouti.

IN DETAIL

Israel calls for evacuation of Baalbek

The latest evacuation call in Lebanon came as the military's Home Front Command activated sirens at regular intervals along the border as dozens of projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

"You are currently located near the facilities and assets associated with Hezbollah, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be targeting in the near future," the Israeli military said.

The Israeli air force intercepted several projectiles fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory, while some fell in open areas, the military said.

Israel and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah have been locked in a deadly war since September 23 that has killed more than 1,900 people in Lebanon, according to a tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.

Israel's military says 38 soldiers have been killed in the Lebanon campaign since it began ground operations on September 30.

Iran vows retaliation

Days before the presidential election in the U.S. - Israel's main military supplier - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran's response would cover attacks on both the Islamic republic and its allies.

"The enemies, both the USA and the Zionist regime, should know that they will definitely receive a tooth-breaking response," Khamenei said, referring to Iran-aligned groups including those in Yemen and Syria.

On October 26, Israel bombed military sites in Iran, killing four servicemen, in response to an October 1 barrage of about 200 missiles that Tehran called a reprisal.

Israel has warned Iran against responding to the October 26 attack. Analysts say Israel inflicted severe damage on Iranian air defenses and missile capacities and could yet launch more widescale action against the Islamic republic.

The U.S. military said on Saturday its B-52 bombers have arrived in the Middle-East, a day after Washington announced their deployment in a warning to Tehran.

Tehran marks anniversary of U.S. hostage crisis

In front of the former American diplomatic representation, people waved Iranian and Palestinian flags as well as those of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. 

Speaking to a crowd in Tehran, General Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Republic's ideological army, lambasted the U.S. and its Israeli ally.

Israelis and Americans "cannot survive by massacring Muslims, we always warn them that if they do not change their behavior, they will go towards collapse and destruction," he said in a televised speech.

Since Saturday morning, state media have been broadcasting revolutionary anthems denouncing the "crimes" of the U.S. against Iran.

Similar protests took place in many other cities across the country, including Shiraz in the south, Abadan (south-west), Bandar Abbas (south) and Sari in the north.

On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran, a group of student supporters of the Islamic Revolution stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, accusing it of being a "nest of spies."

The students had demanded the U.S. extradite the Shah to face trial in Iran in order to free the hostages. The crisis did not end until 444 days later, after the death in Egypt of the deposed sovereign, with the release of 52 American diplomats.

Washington subsequently broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran, which have not been restored since, and imposed an embargo.