GAZA: The Israeli government said late Wednesday that the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza had been closed, in retaliation for the launch of incendiary balloons from the Palestinian enclave.
"Due to the continuous launching of incendiary balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, it has been decided tonight (Wednesday) not to allow access to Gaza's maritime space until further notice," a spokesperson for COGAT, a unit of Israel's defence ministry, said in a statement.
The move came after COGAT said on Tuesday it had reduced the extent of the fishing zone to six nautical miles offshore from 10 nautical miles, having downscaled it from 15 nautical miles a week ago.
A spokesman for the Israeli fire service said incendiary balloons from Gaza caused seven fires just on Tuesday.
In the past year, Palestinians have succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland in southern Israel.
Israel had only restored the fishing limit to 15 miles on June 4, after a previous reduction in response to fire balloons.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, run by Hamas, have fought three wars since 2008.
Israel closes Gaza fishing zone due to fire balloons
Israel closes Gaza fishing zone due to fire balloons
- Spokesman for Israeli fire service said incendiary balloons from Gaza caused seven fires
- Israel had only restored the fishing limit to 15 miles on June 4
Iranian diplomats leave Lebanon after Israeli strikes near embassy
- The security source said they were being flown to Russia on a Russian plane
- A source from the Iranian embassy in Beirut said a number of non-essential diplomats were leaving
BEIRUT: More than 150 Iranian nationals including diplomats and their families left Lebanon on Saturday, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters, after the Israeli military threatened Iran’s representatives in Lebanon and conducted strikes near the embassy.
The security source said they were being flown to Russia on a Russian plane, and that another 20 Iranians had left on Friday following the start of a new war between Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel.
A source from the Iranian embassy in Beirut said a number of non-essential diplomats were leaving, but did not give a number.
Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed in a later statement that Iranian nationals residing in Lebanon have temporarily left Beirut owing to the security situation in the country.
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon continues its normal operations and consular services for Iranian nationals residing there will continue as before, it added.
The war has refocused attention on Iran’s backing for Hezbollah, which launched rockets and drones at Israel on Monday and triggered heavy Israeli bombardment across Lebanon.
On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokesperson said in a post on X that representatives of the Iranian government still in Lebanon should “leave immediately before they are targeted.”
The following day, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked authorities to arrest and deport any Iranian Revolutionary Guards carrying out military activities in Lebanon, the first time authorities have hinted at the possible presence of Iranian forces on its territory.
The Lebanese government has not said whether it has determined that Iranian forces were operating in Lebanon. Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati earlier this week denied that any Iranian military forces were in the country.
On Friday, Israeli air strikes hit an area near Iran’s embassy in Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters. The Iranian embassy source told Reuters that the strikes had driven the decision for Iranian diplomats to leave.
But Lebanese authorities had also been planning to make moves against Iranian diplomats this week, two people familiar with the government’s discussions told Reuters.
They said the Lebanese government had intended to expel diplomats from the country. Reuters could not determine whether the diplomats who had left so far were ousted or left for security reasons.
