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Israel prepared to keep attacking Iran for 'weeks to come', military spokesperson says
We are getting some comments through from the Reuters news agency citing an Israeli military spokesperson saying Israel is prepared for “weeks” more of fighting in its war on Iran, which began on 28 February when joint US-Israeli airstrikes killed the late Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Lt Col Nadav Shoshani told reporters the decision is ultimately up to political leaders, but added: “we are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that, and it’s up to the leadership to decide”.
His comments come after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the assault on Iran was “definitely beyond the halfway point”, later clarifying he meant in terms of “missions” and “not necessarily in terms of time”.
Citing reports, Amnesty International said that as of 27 March at least 1,900 people, including at least 100 Minab schoolchildren, have been killed in Iran as a result of Israeli and US attacks.
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Lorenzo Tondo
The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.
According to the bill, those sentenced to death will be held in a separate facility with no visits except for from authorised personnel, with legal consultations conducted only by video link. Executions will be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.
Israel has rarely used the death penalty, applying it only in exceptional cases. The Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed, in 1962.
The measure will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.
For Palestinians under occupation, the bill closes off avenues for appeal or clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. You can read more here:
The foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, France and Italy have expressed “deep concern” over an Israeli bill (now passed into law) that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian people convicted of fatal terror attacks.
In a joint statement, shared on X by the British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, this morning, they said:
We, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, express our deep concern about a bill that would significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel and that could be voted into law next week.
We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles.
The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.
We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and government to abandon these plans.
The statement was published a day before the new law passed its final reading in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament - by 62 votes to 48 on Monday. The measure has been condemned as discriminatory by European countries and rights groups.
The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 32nd day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. It said in a post:
Iran’s internet blackout has entered day 32 with most users cut off from the outside world for over 744 hours.
Extended digital isolation is bringing new challenges for Iranians, from expired domains and accounts to unpatched servers on a degrading national intranet.
Those without access to Starlink or alternative ways to communicate – which are often expensive – are cut off, not only from the outside world but the blackout also severely curtails Iranian’s ability to communicate with each other, making mobilisation, for example, much more difficult.
Israel’s emergency services said this morning that eight people with minor injuries were evacuated to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area, where police reported falling munitions fragments after an alert for incoming Iranian missiles.
Six of the injured were treated in the city of Bnei Brak, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society has said its relief teams have been conducting search and rescue operations following a US-Israeli airstrike on the Husseiniya Azam – a key Shia religious site used for ceremonies and gatherings - in the Iranian city of Zanjan this morning. Here are some pictures taken in the aftermath of the attack:
The UAE’s defence ministry posted to X about half an hour ago saying that its air defences were intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks – and said this activity explained the sounds audible across various parts of the country.
A US-Israeli attack on the Iranian city of Mahallat last night (at about 11pm local time) killed 11 people and injured 15 others, the Tasnim news agency has cited a deputy security officer as having said.
Four residential units were “completely destroyed” in the attack, in which three children were killed, according to the report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.
Iranian parliamentary committee approves plan to impose tolls on strait of Hormuz - state media
Iranian state media reported yesterday that an Iranian parliamentary committee had approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz.
The strait will be closed to ships from the US, Israel and countries that have been involved in sanctioning Iran, according to a Telegram post from the Fars news agency, which said that Iran will have a “sovereign” role in the implementation of the new system.
The proposal, approved by Iran’s parliament security committee, would reportedly require agreement from other countries next to the strait. It is not clear how much the toll on vessels will be.
The US president, Donald Trump, warned yesterday that if a deal was not struck with Iran – including to reopen the strait of Hormuz shipping lane – US forces would destroy “all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)”.
The strait’s closure has sent global energy prices soaring, including in the US where residents are being hit hard by surging gas prices and farmers face higher fertiliser costs and falling commodity prices.
Two container vessels belonging to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco have successfully passed through the strait of Hormuz as they have exited the Gulf, ship tracking data indicates.
The two vessels were the CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean. They passed close to the Iranian-controlled island of Larak and are bound for Port Klang in Malaysia.
Iran has effectively blocked the vital waterway but allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.
