Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Wednesday confirmed the assassination of its top commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut. The confirmation came the day after Israel said it targeted Shukr in Tuesday's strike on the Lebanese capital and hours after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. Read our liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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Summary:
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The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Wednesday that an Israeli strike in Tehran killed its political chief Ismail Haniyeh. A senior Hamas official said that Haniyeh's death "will not go unanswered" and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and marches to protest his killing.
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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel after the killing of Haniyeh.
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Israel did not immediately comment after the death of Haniyeh was announced. However, the government press office posted an image on social media of Haniyeh with the word 'eliminated' stamped across his forehead several hours after the attack.
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Hezbollah on Wednesday confirmed the assassination of its top commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut. The confirmation came nearly 24 hours after Israel said it targeted Shukr in a Tuesday evening strike.
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At least 39,445 Palestinians have been killed and 91,073 injured in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Israel and Hezbollah exchanged deadly fire on Tuesday, following a rocket strike from Lebanon into the annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 children over the weekend and sent regional tensions soaring.
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The Israeli military said its fighter jets "eliminated" Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in the Beirut area on Tuesday, accusing him of being responsible for the rocket strike on the Golan.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
