Israel-Hamas war: US watching Iran threat 'very closely'

Germany has called on its citizens to leave Iran, citing the risk of a sudden escalation of tensions between Tehran and Israel and saying that Germans could be at risk of arrest and detention.

"In the current tensions, especially between Israel and Iran, there is a risk of a sudden escalation," the German Foreign Ministry wrote in a fresh travel warning issued on Friday. "It cannot be excluded that air, land and sea transport routes could be affected."

The travel warning added: "German citizens are at concrete risk of being arbitrarily arrested, interrogated and given long prison sentences. Dual citizens with Iranian and German nationality are especially at risk."

At least one person was killed and several injured after armed Israeli settlers attacked a village in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The person was shot dead in al-Mughayyir, a village 20 kilometers northeast of Ramallah. The Palestinian Red Cross said at least 10 more people were wounded and that ambulances trying to reach the area were also shot at.

Settlers reportedly attacked the village after a 14-year-old Israeli boy from the nearby settlement went missing, although the precise sequence of events is unclear.

The head of al-Mughayyir's local council, Ameen Abu Alia, described up to 400 armed settlers, backed by Israeli military forces, firing at residents, vandalizing the village and setting several houses and cars ablaze.

Israeli media reported that Israeli security forces initially entered al-Mughayyir to search for the missing boy, to which Palestinian residents responded by throwing stones and incendiary devices at the soldiers. Three soldiers reportedly suffered minor injuries, after which the settlers entered the village.

After the rampage, the IDF said it had cleared the village of settlers but was still searching for the boy. "As of this moment, the violent riots have been dispersed, and there are no Israeli civilians present within the town," the IDF said.

It remains unclear whether the dead man, identified by his family as 26-year-old Jehad Abu Alia, was shot by an armed settler or an Israeli soldier. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops had killed a senior Hamas member in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Friday.

Mohammad Omar Daraghmeh, who the IDF described as the head of Hamas infrastructure in the Tubas region of the Jordan Valley, was killed during an exchange of fire with Israeli forces.

The IDF said a number of weapons and military-style equipment, including automatic rifles, were found in his vehicle. Hamas confirmed Daraghmeh's death and his membership of its armed Al Qassam Brigades.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States and several other countries.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he expects an imminent Iranian attack on Israel, but warned Tehran: "Don't."

Responding to questions from reporters about the likelihood of such an attack, he said: "I don't want to get into secure information but my expectation is sooner than later."

He added: "We are devoted to the defense of Israel, we will support Israel, we will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed."

Iran has vowed retaliation after an airstrike on April 1 leveled an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, killing seven members of the elite Revolutionary Guards including two generals. Iran has blamed its archenemy Israel for the strike.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Friday evening that Israel is prepared for a "wide variety of scenarios" including both defensive and offensive operations.

"Our defenses are ready and know how to deal with every threat separately," Hagari told reporters. "Next to defense, we are prepared to attack. We are ready to attack with a range of capabilities and we know how to act and protect the people of Israel."

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military alliance between Israel and the United States was as strong as ever following talks with the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Kurilla, on Friday.

"Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true; they are bringing us together and strengthening our ties," Gallant said, despite increasing frustration in Washington over Israel's conduct of its war in Gaza in recent months. "We stand shoulder to shoulder," he said. 

Kurilla, who was dispatched to Israel by US President Joe Biden this week amid fears of a potential attack on Israel by Iran, also held talks with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief General Herzl Halevi.

The United States said Friday that it was deploying additional assets to the Middle East amid fears Iran could be planning an attack on Israel.

"We are moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for US forces," a US defense official told media outlets, including CNN and the AFP news agency.

The official did not elaborate on exactly what assets were involved. US officials have said they do not expect a direct Iranian attack on US forces in the region. 

Tensions between Israel and Iran increased earlier this month when several senior officers in Iran's Republican Guard were killed in an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, which Tehran has blamed on Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said after calls with his Australian, British and German counterparts on Thursday that "Iran does not seek to expand the scope of the war." But he added that Tehran felt obliged to respond to the Damascus attack after the UN Security Council failed to take action.

US National Security Spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that US officials were in "constant communication" with their Israeli counterparts about the matter and that steps were underway to ensure Israel is able to defend itself.

"We are certainly mindful of a very public and what we consider to be a very credible threat made by Iran in terms of potential attacks on Israel," Kirby said.

"It would be imprudent if we didn't take a look at our own posture in the region to make sure that we're properly prepared."

The US considers Iran's recent threats against Israel are credible, the White House said on Friday.

"We still deem the potential threat by Iran here to be real, to be viable," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Earlier this week, Iran  threatened to retaliate for an airstrike on an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, that killed a number of Iranian generals earlier this month. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

"I would just say that we're watching this very, very closely," Kirby said, adding that Washington would make sure the Israelis "have what they need and that they're able to defend themselves."

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden pledged "ironclad" support for Israel.

The United Nations' outgoing humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories has called for the establishment of a direct hotline to Israeli forces fighting in Gaza.

"We've been asking for a couple of things since day one," Jamie McGoldrick told reporters on Friday.

"We don't deal directly with the IDF. We need to be speaking to people who are firing guns and controlling weaponry and we have to build up an understanding."

McGoldrick said there was a "a degree of mistrust and misunderstanding" that needs to be addressed.

"The IDF have never worked with humanitarian organizers before in this type of environment. They don't understand how we function, they don't understand our language and what our purpose is. And we don't understand their expectations," he said.

McGoldrick's comments come almost two weeks after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers in a clearly-marked vehicle.

"I don't think there's been any notable improvement in terms of our ability to move around" since the incident, McGoldrick said, adding that humanitarian workers "fear for their own safety."

Germany's flag carrier airline Lufthansa has extended a pause on flights to Tehran for a third time.

"Due to the current situation, Lufthansa is suspending its flights to and from Tehran up to and including Thursday, April 18, after careful evaluation," a company spokesperson said on Friday afternoon.

The move follows Iran's threats against Israel after an airstrike on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed a number of Iranian generals.

The French Foreign Ministry has warned its citizens to "imperatively refrain from travel" to Israel, Lebanon, Iran and the Palestinian territories.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne made the recommendation in a crisis meeting, the ministry said on Friday.

The new travel advisory comes in the wake of Iranian threats against Israel, which were prompted by an airstrike earlier this month that killed several Iranian generals in a consular building in Damascus, Syria.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern on Friday over Iran's threats against Israel in the wake of an airstrike that killed Iranian generals at a consular building in Damascus, Syria earlier this month. 

"We are taking very seriously the dangers that are emerging with regard to possible actions by Iran," Scholz told a press briefing in Berlin.

The German chancellor will depart for an official visit to China on Saturday.

When asked whether he would address the issue of Iran in China, Scholz said the German government is talking broadly "and in all directions."

The first convoy of aid trucks to use a new border crossing in northern Gaza has entered the territory, the Israeli army announced on Friday.

The Israeli army released photos dated April 9 that it said showed the aid trucks undergoing preparations.

The trucks first underwent security checks at Kerem Shalom, near Egypt, before heading to the newly opened crossing in the north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

On board the trucks was food aid for Palestinians threatened by famine.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the new border crossing "will provide a route to bring aid directly to northern Gaza and reduce pressure on Kerem Shalom."

He announced the move alongside several other measures that included increasing the flow of aid through the Ashdod Port and boosting aid through Jordan.

"These breakthroughs have a direct impact on the flow of aid — we plan to flood Gaza with aid and we are expecting to reach 500 trucks per day. It will also streamline security checks and strengthen our work with international partners," Gallant added.

Human rights lawyers have filed a lawsuit against the German government for approving the export of 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel.

The case was brought by five Palestinians from Gaza, supported by lawyers from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) as well as Palestinian rights groups.

ECCHR said the German government had granted export clearance for 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel after the Hamas terror attack on October 7.

Meanwhile, an export permit application for 10,000 rounds of ammunition to Israel had yet to be approved. The lawyers called on the Berlin administrative court to suspend the export licenses as a provisional measure.

"Germany cannot remain true to its values if it exports weapons to a war in which serious violations of international humanitarian law are obvious," ECCHR Secretary General Wolfgang Kaleck said in a statement.

The German government did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, but previously said it examines each arms export permit individually and takes a number of factors into account, including human rights and humanitarian law.

zc/wmr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)