Summary
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US president Donald Trump has denied that he left a G7 leaders summit in Canada early to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in a social media post in which he also derided Emmanuel Macron as “publicity seeking”. The US president said Macron had “no idea” why he was returning to Washington and that the reason was “much bigger” than a ceasefire. Earlier, Macron had suggested that Trump had made a ceasefire “offer”.
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G7 leaders have affirmed that “Israel has a right to defend itself”. The leaders said that they reiterate their support for the security of Israel, in a statement in which they called Iran “the principal source of regional instability and terror”.
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Trump also said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X. Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
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Heavy traffic could be seen from Tehran after Trump told Iranians to ‘immediately evacuate’. The comments from the president came not long after Israel told people to evacuate a large part of Tehran ahead of a bombing campaign – similar to its tactics in Gaza where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians.
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The Israeli military claimed on Tuesday to have assassinated Ali Shadmani, who it identified as Iran’s wartime chief of staff, Reuters reports. The Israelis described Shadmani as Iran’s “most senior military commander”. Shadmani was appointed to his role after the assassination of Gholamali Rashid last week by Israeli forces, who was the former head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
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At least 47 Palestinians have been killed as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory’s civil defence agency said in a statement. The agency added that over 200 had been wounded as a result. The reports come after five Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza city.
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Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said 300 casualties had arrived after being attacked by “tanks” while waiting for food. He added that the hospital could “no longer deal with such high numbers of cases”.
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A staffer at the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has died after an Israeli attack on the building during a live broadcast, Iranian media has reported. Masoumeh Azimi succumbed to severe injuries caused by the shockwave from the attack, Press TV, which is owned by IRIB, reported. Several other journalists were also injured, it said. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.
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US defence ministry spokespeople have denied reports online that the US has joined attacks on Iran. “This is not true”, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in response to one such post.
Key events
Nearly 700 casualties being treated across Khan Younis
Julian Borger
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital, said nearly 700 casualties had been reported as being treated in hospitals across Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The doctor described the situation as a “mass casualty” incident that occurred approximately two hours ago, when “tanks attacked the people who were waiting for food and humanitarian aid”.
He said that over 300 casualties had arrived at Nasser hospital following the event, including 50 deaths.
Dr Saqer said:
Most of the cases are in serious conditions due to the tanks’ missiles and now the situation at Nasser medical complex is out of control.
We can’t deal with such a high number of cases, so we asked the hospitals around Khan Younis city to support us and send ambulances to transfer cases to those hospitals.
Until now, we are suffering a lot due to lack of medical supplies and instruments in addition to the lack of medical and nursing staff.
We are trying to control the situation but now we can’t do anything more because the situation is really horrible and out of our control.
China has said some of its citizens have been able to leave Iran, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Bejing:
At present, some Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated to neighbouring countries.
Israel and Iran have both closed their airspace since the conflict broke out when Israel began striking military and nuclear targets in Iran on Friday.
The Thai government has ordered its military to prepare planes to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran, a spokesperson said Tuesday, as the two sides exchanged missile fire for a fifth day, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
There are an estimated 40,000 Thai nationals currently living in Israel, most working on farms under a government labour scheme, and about 300 nationals living in Iran.
Government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told reporters after a cabinet meeting:
We are ready to evacuate people and have coordinated with the military to prepare planes to bring them home from Israel and Iran.
He said Thai embassies in both countries have prepared evacuation plans for nationals.
The Thai embassy in Tehran announced on its official Facebook page that it had set up a temporary shelter for citizens outside the capital.
Summary
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US president Donald Trump has denied that he left a G7 leaders summit in Canada early to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in a social media post in which he also derided Emmanuel Macron as “publicity seeking”. The US president said Macron had “no idea” why he was returning to Washington and that the reason was “much bigger” than a ceasefire. Earlier, Macron had suggested that Trump had made a ceasefire “offer”.
-
G7 leaders have affirmed that “Israel has a right to defend itself”. The leaders said that they reiterate their support for the security of Israel, in a statement in which they called Iran “the principal source of regional instability and terror”.
-
Trump also said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X. Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
-
Heavy traffic could be seen from Tehran after Trump told Iranians to ‘immediately evacuate’. The comments from the president came not long after Israel told people to evacuate a large part of Tehran ahead of a bombing campaign – similar to its tactics in Gaza where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians.
-
The Israeli military claimed on Tuesday to have assassinated Ali Shadmani, who it identified as Iran’s wartime chief of staff, Reuters reports. The Israelis described Shadmani as Iran’s “most senior military commander”. Shadmani was appointed to his role after the assassination of Gholamali Rashid last week by Israeli forces, who was the former head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
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At least 47 Palestinians have been killed as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory’s civil defence agency said in a statement. The agency added that over 200 had been wounded as a result. The reports come after five Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza city.
-
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said 300 casualties had arrived after being attacked by “tanks” while waiting for food. He added that the hospital could “no longer deal with such high numbers of cases”.
-
A staffer at the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has died after an Israeli attack on the building during a live broadcast, Iranian media has reported. Masoumeh Azimi succumbed to severe injuries caused by the shockwave from the attack, Press TV, which is owned by IRIB, reported. Several other journalists were also injured, it said. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.
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US defence ministry spokespeople have denied reports online that the US has joined attacks on Iran. “This is not true”, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in response to one such post.
Gaza’s civil defence agency has said that the earlier tank shellfire from Israeli forces has killed at least 47 people gathered near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least 47 people were killed and more than 200 wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour at a charity aid centre in the morning.
He said:
Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded.
The shellfire did not appear to be related to a new Israeli and US supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month, which has been marred by controversy and violence, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Iran said it destroyed strategic targets in Israel overnight using drones, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The move comes as intense strikes between the arch-foes raged for a fifth day on Tuesday.
General Kioumars Heidari, commander of the army’s ground forces, was quoted as saying by state television:
Various types of destructive drones, equipped with precise destruction and targeting capabilities, destroyed strategic positions of the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The Gaza Health Ministry has stated that the 45 Palestinians killed while awaiting aid trunks in Khan Younis died as a result of Israeli tank shellfire, Reuters reports.
The health ministry added that dozens of other individuals were wounded as a result.
Medics said residents said Israeli tanks fired shells against crowds of desperate Palestinians awaiting aid trucks along the main eastern road in Khan Younis.
The medics said they expected the number of fatalities to rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition.
A ministry statement added that the Nasser hospital, where the casualties were rushed to, had been overwhelmed by the number of deaths and injuries.
There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on the incident.
Nearly 300 casualties arrive at Nasser hospital
Julian Borger
Nearly 300 casualties have been reported by a staff member of Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, as shared by my colleagues Julian Borger and Lorenzo Tondo.
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at the hospital, said the individuals arriving at the hospital had been attacked by “tanks” while waiting for food.
He said:
Nearly 300 mortalities and casualties have just arrived at Nasser Hospital… The situation is now out of control.
The hospital can no longer deal with such high numbers of cases.
The statement comes alongside reports of Israeli fire killing at least 45 Palestinians in Khan Younis as they awaited aid trucks.
Trump seeking ‘real end’ to Iranian nuclear issue – reports
US president Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X.
Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
Trump predicted that Israel would not be slowing its attacks on Iran.
He said:
You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.
The president added that he “may” send US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or vice-president JD Vance to meet with Iran.
However, he added that “it depends what happens when I get back”. Asked on whether US involvement would destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, he said he hoped their programme would be “wiped out long before that”.
Israeli fire kills at least 45 Palestinians in Khan Younis
Reuters reports that Israeli fire killed at least 45 Palestinians as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory’s health ministry said in a statement.
The health ministry added that dozens of others were wounded as a result.
The event comes after five Palestinian civilians were killed, along with several others wounded, after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza City on Monday evening.
Monday also saw 37 people being killed in shootings near food distribution centres run by private US contractors guarded by Israeli troops,
