IDF chief: Israel at 'peak readiness' as military awaits Iran attack

DPA:   Military Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said Israeli forces were at "peak readiness, both in offence and in defence," as they braced for Iran's promised retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader on Iranian soil.

"We will know how to carry out a very rapid offensive anywhere in Lebanon, anywhere in Gaza, anywhere in the Middle East, above ground and below ground," he told members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday.

In his remarks made at the Tel Nof Air Force Base, the IDF chief noted: "We have carried out very important operations in recent weeks, eliminating the most senior commanders of our most problematic enemies, and we are not stopping."

The Middle East has been on edge since the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a targeted attack blamed on Israel as he visited Tehran last week.

That came on the heels of Israel killing Fuad Shukr, a top military commander with the Iranian-allied Hezbollah, who was killed in Beirut.

There is widespread expectation that an attack on Israel by Iran and its allies - like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen - is imminent. That in turn has raised fears that a strong Israeli counter-attack could spark an all-out war in the region.

Echoing similar appeals made in recent days, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

Macron called upon Pezeshkian to do everything possible to prevent further military escalation, which would benefit no one, not even Iran, and would cause lasting damage to regional stability, Macron's office, the Élysée Palace, said on Wednesday evening.

Egypt bans overnight flights over Tehran

Egypt prohibited its airlines from flying over the Iranian capital Tehran overnight.

"All Egyptian airlines should avoid flights over Tehran," a security notice from the civil aviation authority in Cairo read on Wednesday.

Plans for flights over this area will be rejected, it said. The directive applies from 0100 GMT on Thursday for three hours.

Such a notice from Egypt is "very unusual," wrote the organization OPS Group, which informs its members about risks and changes in international air traffic.

"It is possible that this is an indicator of an Iranian response to Israel, and in turn a potentially large set of airspace disruptions," the group wrote.

Earlier this week, Jordan asked all incoming aircraft to carry an additional 45 minutes of fuel in case of diversions, while a number of airlines have suspended flights to Beirut.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation denounces Haniyeh's killing

A major bloc of Muslim-majority countries meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday denounced Haniyeh's killing.

Foreign ministers of member states of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it strongly condemned the assassination "and holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack."

Haniyeh's killing "constitutes a crime of aggression, a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter and a serious infringement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran," it added.

In the closing statement by the ministers who met in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, the OIC also condemned "the continued war crimes, aggression and genocide committed by Israel" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Haniyeh's replacement praised by Hezbollah and the Houthis

Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah organization congratulated Yehya al-Sinwar after he was named on Tuesday as Haniyeh's successor for the top Hamas post.

Al-Sinwar had previously been the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where he has eluded Israeli forces for the past 10 months of war. He was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attacks on southern Israel that left some 1,200 people dead.

Al-Sinwar's appointment as head of the organization's political bureau was proof of Israel's failure, Hezbollah said in a statement.

With al-Sinwar's appointment, Hamas was also sending a "strong message" to Israel and its allies, since Hamas was united in its decisions and remained steadfast. It was "continuing on the path of resistance and struggle," Hezbollah said.

Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas allies also congratulated al-Sinwar.

A spokesman for the militia said on X that the Houthis prayed that al-Sinwar would receive “divine support” to fulfil his responsibilities “in this historic phase in the confrontation with Israel.”