Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Israel, American bases and countries around the region Thursday, while warning the U.S. would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship. Tehran’s expanding retaliatory strikes came even as Israel and the U.S. hammered Iran for a sixth day.
The war has escalated each day, affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though Tehran denied that. A day earlier, the U.S. said it sank an Iranian frigate in the waters off Sri Lanka.
Israel meanwhile issued a mass evacuation warning for all of Beirut’s southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Lebanon’s Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. U.N. peacekeepers reported ground combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border.
Israeli army issues mass evacuation warning for Beirut suburbs
The Israeli military issued an evacuation notice Thursday calling for all residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” apparently signalling plans for heavy bombardment of the area.
Since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has struck sites in Beirut’s suburbs and issued a blanket warning for residents of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River to evacuate their homes. But it had not issued a blanket evacuation order for areas outside of Beirut’s capital.
After the attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel Monday for the first time in over a year, and Israel has retaliated with bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Seventy-seven people have been killed and more than 83,000 people displaced in Lebanon by the renewed conflict.
Supply of food to 50 million people in Gulf affected by blocked ports, group says
The war in the Middle East has blocked access to major ports in the Gulf region, impacting the supply of food to over 50 million people in a region highly dependent on agricultural imports, a ship-spotting platform said Thursday.
MarineTraffic.com said that container vessels heading to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait are now stranded.
This has impacted agricultural supplies to over 50 million people in the Gulf, a region that imports over 90% of its food, it said.
Sri Lanka says another Iranian vessel is in its waters
A Sri Lankan minister said Thursday that another Iranian ship has arrived in its waters, a day after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the country’s coast, killing at least 87 people and wounding 32 others.
Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed the presence of the second Iranian ship in response to a question in parliament. But he did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board.
He said the government was making an “intervention to minimize loss of lives and to safeguard the regional peace.”
Iran launched more missiles at Israel and U.S. bases as war in the Middle East enters a sixth day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the state news agency.
Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent.
