Top Iran General: We Can Strike Israel Anywhere

TEHRAN – A senior general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards issued a blunt warning Tuesday to Israel, saying Iranian forces and weaponry "can destroy all points controlled by" Israel, with "any volume of firepower."

General Hassan Salami made the declaration during a conference on the role of the Islamic religion on global power relations, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Salami credited Islam with giving Iran its military force, which could target Israel from "a thousand and a few hundred kilometers," which contrasted with other states that had firepower but no "faith" or desire to destroy Israel.

Those other states, he said without specifying, had turned into "anchors" for Israel. Salami said Iran shared its "ideals" with the Palestinians, and "we like to sacrifice ourselves on the path of the Palestinian people's ideal."

Another senior officer to address the conference Tuesday was the head of Iran's navy, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari. He said Iran had a right to be present in international waters, and this was no "military posture" as suggested by Western media. He also denied reports of Israel seizing a ship allegedly taking arms to the Hamas administration in Gaza, as part of Israel's usual policy of "demonizing Iran," IRNA reported.

The Israeli military posted this video it says describes the operation.

(photo -M-ATF)

Crunched by Ahmad Shayegan

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

ceasefire

Our Next Four Days In Gaza: Digging For The Dead, Hunting For Food, Hoping Ceasefire Sticks

With Qatar now confirming that the temporary truce will begin Friday morning, ordinary Gazans may be able to breathe for the first time since Oct. 7. But for most, the task ahead is a mix of heartbreak and the most practical tasks to survive. And there’s the question hanging over all: can the ceasefire become permanent?

Photo of Palestinians looking for their belongings in the rubble of their housein Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Palestinians look for their belongings in the rubble of their housein Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Omar Ashtawy/APA Images/ZUMA

Elias Kassem

It’s what just about everyone in Gaza has been waiting for: a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war is expected to begin Friday, bringing a respite to more than 2.3 million people who have been living under war and siege for seven straight weeks.

By the stipulations of the deal, the truce is expected to last four days, during which time Hamas will release hostages captured during their Oct. 7 assault and Israel will release Palestinian prisoners from their jails.

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While details of the negotiations continue, ordinary Palestinians know they may only have four days before the bombs starting dropping and tanks start rolling again.

Some will continue sifting through the rubble, looking to find trapped family members, after searches were interrupted by new rounds of air attacks.

Other Gazans will try to find shelter in what they’ve been told are safer areas in the south of Palestinian enclave. Some will hurry back to inspect their homes, especially in the northern half of the strip where Israeli ground forces have battled Palestinian militants for weeks.

Ahmed Abu Radwan says he will try to return to his northern town of Beit Lahia, with the aim of resuming digging the rubble of his home in hopes of pulling the bodies of his 8-year-old son Omar.