Failure to hit Israel with missiles ‘does not matter’, Iran’s supreme leader says

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatolloh Ali Khameni has hailed the attack on Israel as a success even as he acknowledged few missiles hit their targets.

“How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the primary question,” Khamenei said. “What really matters is that Iran demonstrated its willpower during that operation.”

Iran fired more than 350 drones and missiles at Israel last weekend in an unprecedented attack from its own soil.

The Israel Defense Forces, along with a US-led coalition, including the UK, Jordan and France, intercepted almost all of the projectiles in a joint operation spanning several hours across the Middle East.

Meeting with commanders of Iran’s armed forces, Iran’s ageing dictator said: “The armed forces’s recent achievements have created a sense of splendour and magnificence about Islamic Iran in the eyes of the world and among international observers.”

Khamenei called upon military leaders to “learn enemy tactics” and “ceaselessly pursue military innovation”, according to state-run media.

The regime has spoken in a united voice about the success of the operation, not acknowledging its failings.

Retaliation for bombing

Iran said the strikes on April 13 were retaliation for Israel’s suspected deadly bombing of its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, which killed a senior Quds Force commander and multiple Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel.

On Friday night, an Israeli strike targeted an Iranian air force base near Isfahan, taking out key aerial defences protecting Iran’s nuclear sites. Israel has not commented on the attack.

The IRGC thanked the public for its “support” after the bombardment of Israel, even as several journalists were arrested for voicing concern over its consequences.

“We humbly appreciate and are grateful for your magnificent support and backing… for the IRGC in punishing the Zionist enemy during these historic everlasting days,” it said.

Iran and Israel appeared to have stepped back from the brink of a broader conflict following Friday’s attack, which Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iranian foreign minister, appeared to downplay to US media on Saturday.

Speaking to NBC News, he dismissed it as “no attack” and said the weapons used were “at the level of toys”, adding that if there was “no new adventure” by Israel then Iran “will have no response”.

04:08 PM BST

Today’s live coverage has ended

Today’s live coverage has ended. Here is a roundup of the day’s main events:

• Gazan health workers discovered the bodies of at least 50 people allegedly “killed and buried” by Israeli forces at a hospital in Khan Younis.

• Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight any attempt to impose sanctions on Israeli military units, after media reported that the US was poised to sanction an IDF battalion for alleged human rights violations.

• Iran’s supreme leader said that Tehran’s failure to hit Israel with missiles “does not matter”.

• The US House of Representatives passed a major security assistance package to US allies, which includes $26 billion for Israel.

• The Israeli military concluded a 50-hour West Bank raid, in which heavy fighting and 14 Palestinian deaths were reported.

03:52 PM BST

50 bodies uncovered at Khan Younis hospital, Gaza authorities say

The bodies of at least 50 people “killed and buried” by Israeli forces have been discovered at a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Gaza’s civil defence agency has said.

In a statement, the agency said the remains were discovered in the courtyard of the Nasser Medical Complex.

“There are mass graves dug by the Israeli occupation … we were shocked by the presence of bodies of 50 martyrs in one of the pits yesterday,” a spokesman said.

The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

Israeli forces withdrew from Khan Younis on April 8 after months of fierce fighting in the area.

03:35 PM BST

Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions against IDF units

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to fight any attempt to impose sanctions on Israeli military units.

The move comes after media reported that the US was poised to take action against Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion for alleged human rights violations.

“If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) — I will fight it with all my strength,” Mr Netanyahu said in a statement

The IDF said the Netzah Yehuda battalion, a unit made up of ultra-Orthodox fighters, operates according to the principles of international law.

Read the full report by Melanie Swan here.

03:02 PM BST

Watch: IDF releases footage of West Bank refugee camp raid that reportedly killed at least 12 Palestinians

02:53 PM BST

IDF says it is unaware of US plans to sanction Netzah Yehuda battalion

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said it is unaware of US plans to sanction one of its combat battalions, amid reports that Washington is poised to take action over alleged abuses of Palestinians.

The Netzah Yehuda battalion, a unit composed of hard-Right and ultra-Orthodox recruits, has faced allegations of violating Palestinian human rights in the occupied West Bank.

The IDF said the battalion is an active combat unit that operates according to the principles of international law.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sanctioning the unit would be “the height of absurdity and a moral low”.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said on Friday that he will soon reveal the results of an investigation using the Leahy Law, which prohibits military assistance to foreign security forces that violate human rights.

02:27 PM BST

Pictured: Downed Iranian ballistic missile near the Red Sea in Israel

02:13 PM BST

Watch: Israeli fighter jets strike Hezbollah in Lebanon

02:02 PM BST

Israel charges sister of Hamas leader with inciting terrorism

Israel has charged the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with inciting terrorism after she allegedly praised the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

According to the indictment, in the days after Hamas’ Oct 7 rampage across southern Israel, Haniyeh sent messages to dozens of contacts, including her brother, that praised the cross-border assault and called for further slaughter.

One of her messages reportedly include the line: “Oh God, count them and kill them and don’t leave any of them, Oh God.”

Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, 57, lives in the southern Israeli town of Tel Sheva. Her brother is based in Qatar, along with other senior Hamas officials.

01:51 PM BST

Pictured: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads prayers with Iranian military commanders

01:10 PM BST

Hamas condemns US support package for Israel

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a Hamas spokesman, has condemned the approval by the US House of Representatives of a security assistance package for US allies that includes $26 billion for Israel.

Abu Rudeineh said the package would give Israel “the green light to expand the scope of war” to other countries in the region.

The $95 billion legislative package was passed on Saturday and is intended to provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Israel’s share of the support includes $5.2 billion for spending on air defences, $1 billion for the production of artillery, as well as billions of dollars for other weapons systems and for US military operations undertaken in the region in response to recent attacks.

The package also includes $9 billion for humanitarian assistance, some of which would help Gaza residents.

12:48 PM BST

Watch: At least a dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli West Bank raid

12:25 PM BST

Iran’s supreme leader urges armed forces to ‘learn the enemy’s tactics’

Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has urged Tehran’s military to “ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy’s tactics”, Iran’s state-run news agency announced on Sunday.

The move came as Khamenei thanked the Iranian armed forces for their operations against Israel, the agency added.

Iran attacked Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles on April 13 in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s suspected attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1.

On Friday, Israel was reported to have responded by attacking an Iranian air force installation in central Iran in what a US official described as a “limited strike”.

12:12 PM BST

Iranian president to visit Pakistan

Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president, will make an official visit to Pakistan from Monday to Wednesday, Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said.

The visit will see the two Muslim countries try to mend ties after they exchanged tit-for-tat missile strikes in January.

In a statement, the foreign affairs ministry said Raisi will meet Pakistan’s president and prime minister, the chairman of the senate and speaker of the national assembly.

“They will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism,” the statement added.

11:40 AM BST

Israeli politician urges government to disband notorious IDF unit

An Israeli politician has urged the Israeli government to disband a notorious Israel Defence Forces (IDF) battalion, amid reports that the US is preparing to sanction the unit.

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion, which is mainly composed of hard-Right and ultra-Orthodox recruits, has a history of alleged abuses against Palestinians.

Merav Michaeli, the Israeli Labor Party leader, said the expected sanctions are “an acknowledgment of the reality and an understanding that Israel’s conduct in the territories cannot continue”.

“The violent and corrupt conduct of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion and those around it has been known for years, and nothing has been done to stop it,” she added.

11:16 AM BST

Pictured: Israelis gather around downed Iranian ballistic missile

11:02 AM BST

Hamas-run health ministry raises Gaza death toll to 34,097

At least 34,097 Palestinians have been killed and 76,980 injured in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday.

48 Palestinians were killed and 79 others injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

The figures cannot be verified by The Telegraph. The UK’s statistics watchdog has recently announced it is to examine whether casualty data provided by the Gaza health ministry can be relied upon — you can read the full report by Camilla Tominey here.

10:42 AM BST

Israel strikes on Rafah kill 18 people, including 14 children, health officials say

Overnight Israeli strikes on southern Gaza city of Rafah killed 18 people, including 14 children, health officials said on Sunday.

The first strike killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child, according to a local hospital that received the bodies. The woman was pregnant, and the doctors managed to save the baby, the hospital said.

Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from Israeli bombardment elsewhere.

Israel is understood to have planned ground operations in the Rafah area, despite US warnings that it would not support such an offensive.

10:26 AM BST

US House passes billions in aid for Israel

The US House of Representatives has passed a major security assistance package to US allies, which includes $26 billion for Israel.

Of the $26 billion, $5.2 billion is reversed for spending on air defences, $1 billion for the production of artillery, as well as billions of dollars for other weapons systems and for US military operations undertaken in the region in response to recent attacks.

The package also includes $9 billion for humanitarian assistance, some of which would help Gaza residents.

The US is also considering a separate proposal of more than $1 billion in weapons deals for Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal.

10:10 AM BST

‘14 Palestinians killed’ during Israeli West Bank raid as violence flares

Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The raid began in the early hours of Friday morning, when bursts of gunfire were heard as Israeli military vehicles massed for an assault.

Clashes between Israeli troops and armed fighters continued well into Saturday, according to reports.

Residents said that there is no electricity in the area and food is running short, but nobody is being allowed to enter or leave.

The Israeli military said a number of militants were killed or arrested during the raid, and at least four soldiers were wounded in exchanges of fire.

The Nur Shams refugee camp is located near the flashpoint city of Tulkarm – home to the Tulkarem Brigades, an umbrella organisation composed of several armed Palestinian groups with different political affiliations.

10:03 AM BST

Watch: Israeli fighter jets strike Hezbollah in Lebanon

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