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Houthis claim third missile attack against Israel

Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah.

In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict “in conjunction with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon”.

The Houthis “carried out the third military operation… targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets… with a barrage of ballistic missiles”, the Tehran-backed group said.

It threatened “further escalation” if Israel continues to attack Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The statement comes about three hours after the Israeli military said a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen at southern Israel was intercepted. No injuries were reported.

Key events

Here are some early images from across the Middle East.

A man stands atop the rubble as smoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

A man carries a dog to a shelter as sirens sound in Tel Aviv after Iran launched missiles towards Israel. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Smoke billows after explosions were heard at about 5.35am local time (3.35am BST) in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

A man walks along the shore at Khor Fakkan in the UAE as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

Israel’s emergency medical service said an 11-year-old girl was in serious condition after a missile attack that the military blamed on Iran and police said caused damage at several sites, reports AFP.

The military said it had “identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel” for the first time in about 20 hours, with air raid sirens activated across central Israel.

Another warning of incoming missile fire came less than an hour later, prompting alerts across large parts of northern and central Israel, according to the military’s Home Front Command.

The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said an 11-year-old girl was seriously wounded by shrapnel in central Israel as a result of the first launch.

Spokesman Zaki Heller told Israeli TV that at least 12 others were also wounded, including a 13-year-old boy and a 33-year-old woman in moderate condition, all from the same impact site.

Israeli media said cluster munitions, which explode mid-air and scatter bomblets across a wide area, were used in the attack. Iran and Israel have previously accused each other of using cluster bombs.

Macron lauds Europe’s ‘predictability’ in seeming contrast to Trump

French President Emmanuel Macron has praised Europe’s “predictability” during a visit to Japan on Wednesday, contrasting it with countries that “could hurt you without even informing you” in an apparent swipe at Donald Trump, reports AFP.

“I’m well aware that sometimes Europe can be seen as a continent that is slower than others,” Macron told an audience of Japanese business leaders and investors in Tokyo.

“But predictability has value, and we have demonstrated that over all these past years and, dare I say, even these past weeks: we are where you know we will go,” he added.

Macron criticised countries that said they were “going much faster” than their allies, but “you don’t know whether the day after tomorrow they will still be in that position, and whether tomorrow they won’t make a decision that could hurt you without even informing you”.

The remark was an apparent reference to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has led to the effective closures of the strait of Hormuz, a waterway that Japan depends upon for its energy imports.

The US president criticised France on Tuesday, writing on social media that Paris had been “very unhelpful” during the war with Iran.

Israel military says it is working to intercept Iran missile attack as warning sirens activated

The Israeli military said its air defences responded to a missile attack from Iran on Wednesday, with warning sirens activated across central Israel.

“A short while ago, the IDF (army) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” a military statement said.

One person has been killed by falling drone debris in United Arab Emirates

One person has been killed after debris from an intercepted drone fell on a farm in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, state media said.

The individual killed was a Bangladeshi national.

Tanker struck off Qatar was hit by two projectiles, UK authorities say

A tanker struck off Qatar was hit by two projectiles, one causing a fire that has since been extinguished and another remaining unexploded in the vessel’s engine room, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday.

The vessel was struck about 17 nautical miles (31 km) north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub, causing damage above the waterline, with the crew safe and no environmental impact, reported AFP.

Israel’s military said early on Wednesday it had carried out a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran.

Separately, it said an Israeli military drone had been downed by a surface-to-air missile during operational activity in southern Lebanon overnight on Tuesday.

Australian PM to address nation as support measures announced to cushion soaring fuel prices

Patrick Commins

Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers has unveiled a suite of Covid-era support measures for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices, while Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese is set to address the nation in the latest sign the government is preparing for a more severe economic downturn from the war.

“The war in the Middle East is having an extreme impact on the global economy. Australians and Australian small businesses are paying the price for that,” the treasurer told reporters on Wednesday.

The support package will include more generous Australian Taxation Office payment plans, doing away with penalties and interest on unpaid tax debts, and offering support to defer PAYG payments where the business has suffered a hit to their revenue “due to fuel supply issues”.

The ATO will also hold off on chasing unpaid tax debts.

Anthony Albanese will deliver an address to the nation on Wednesday night at 7pm AEDT, where he’s expected to encourage Australians to play their part in the fuel crisis, including helping to save fuel for areas that need it.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the wider repercussions throughout the Middle East and globally.

Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US forces would end operations in Iran “very soon,” suggesting a timeline of two to three weeks. The US president also told reporters that the responsibility for keeping the strait of Hormuz open will rest with countries that rely on it. “That’s not for us … That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait,” he said.

Later, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Fox News the US would need to reevaluate the Nato relationship after the conflict in Iran concludes, saying: “I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to re-examine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose.

“If now we have reached a point where the Nato alliance means that we can’t use [US military bases in Europe]… then Nato is a one-way street.”

Here is a summary of the latest developments:

Donald Trump will provide an update on the Iran war in an address to the nation at 9pm EST on Wednesday (0100 BST on Thursday), White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has announced.
Two-thirds of Americans believe that the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Asian markets rose sharply early on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end. South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4% in early trading, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.4% higher.
Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush deployed on Tuesday and is slated to travel to the region along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 personnel.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel. It said defence systems were operating to intercept the missile.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday morning. The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital’s north, east and centre, reporting “attacks on Tehran” without immediately providing more details.
A drone attack has sparked a large fire at Kuwait international airport, according to its state news agency, which said no casualties had been reported, while in the last few hours Saudi Arabia has said it intercepted and destroyed two drones. Bahrain also said early on Wednesday that it was working to extinguish a fire at a business facility that resulted from an Iranian attack. A tanker also came under attack off the coast of Qatar early on Wednesday, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.
Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and a nearby area have killed seven people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said. The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US open the strait of Hormuz by force. Citing Arab officials, the newspaper reported the UAE is lobbying for a UN security council resolution that would authorise such action.