Iran-Israel war Highlights: 'Knowledge of enemy's methods should be on agenda,' says Iran's supreme leader

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Innovation in weapons and methods, knowledge of enemy's methods should be on agenda.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised the Iranian Armed Forces for displaying a commendable image of strength and military prowess in the wake of Operation True Promise, stating they created a feeling of glory about the Islamic nation. Here's a video shared by local news channel Press TV.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said his country's armed forces displayed a commendable image of strength, PTV News reported.

Palestinian Red Crescent said 14 dead in Israeli West Bank raid. According to Associated Press, Israel conducted airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnigh. As many as 18 people, including 14 children, were killed, health officials said Sunday.

Iran's supreme leader Khamenei calls upon Iranian armed forces to 'ceaselessly pursue military innovation' and learn 'enemy's tactics', state media reported.

IDF forces successfully thwarted an attempted terrorist attack earlier this morning in the Hebron area. Two terrorists arrived at the Beit Anon junction, with one attempting to stab IDF soldiers at the location, while another one opened fire on the troops. Prompt action by the forces resulted in neutralising both terrorists without any casualties among the troops. Simultaneously, another terror event unfolded between Kohav HaShahar and Malachei Shalom in Binyamin region. Initial reports indicated an explosion in the area, prompting the dispatch of large forces to the scene. Further investigation revealed that the incident was a pull attack, triggered when a charge connected to a Palestinian Authority flag on the roadside was activated. As a resident of East Binyamin approached to remove the flag, the charge detonated, causing light injuries. The injured resident, who is on IDF active reserve service, received on-site treatment and declined hospitalisation.

Israeli war Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz joined a growing chorus of criticism by fellow politicians over US President Joe Biden's administration decision to impose sanctions on a unit of Israel Defence Forces, calling it a 'dangerous precedent'. He said it 'conveys the wrong message'. In a post on X, Benny Gantz wrote, "I have great appreciation for our American friends, but the decision to impose sanctions on an IDF unit and its soldiers sets a dangerous precedent and conveys the wrong message to our shared enemies during wartime."

Oil and LNG prices are likely to shoot up if Iran is to block Strait of Hormuz, through which countries like India import crude oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, leading to a spike in inflation, analysts said on the Iran-Israel conflict. The Iran and Israel conflict has escalated over the last few days. Iran first launched drone and rocket attacks on Israel, which retaliated by firing a missile. Crude oil prices have hovered around USD 90 per barrel since the conflict.

Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 13 people, including nine children, health officials said Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to its close ally. Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the U.S. The House of Representatives approved a $26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes around $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

The Gaza war is speeding up Israel's "annexation" of the Palestinian economy, say analysts, who argue it has been hobbled for decades by agreements that followed the Oslo peace accords. While the Israel-Hamas war raging since October 7 has devastated swathes of Gaza, it has also hit the public finances and wider economy of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel is tightening the noose on the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the West Bank, by withholding tax revenues it collects on its behalf, economist Adel Samara told AFP. Palestinian livelihoods have also been hurt by bans on labourers crossing into Israel, and by a sharp downturn in tourism in the violence-plagued territory, including a quiet Christmas season in Bethlehem.

Executions of convicts, arrests of dissidents and a resurgence in patrols enforcing the obligatory wearing of hijabs: Iran is stepping up repression at home as tensions flare with its arch-foe Israel, activists say. Iranians in the Islamic republic have endured increased repression since nationwide protests were sparked from September 2022 by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly flouting the mandatory dress rules for women. But the crackdown has entered a new phase as fears of a regional conflict surge, with Israel launching an apparent strike on Iran on Friday.

Iran and Israel appeared to step back from the brink of broader conflict as lawmakers in the United States approved new Israeli military aid on Saturday despite growing criticism of its ally's war in Gaza. Iran downplayed Israel's reported retaliation for its unprecedented drone and missile attack, tamping down fears that escalating attacks between the arch enemies could tip over into a broader war in the Middle East. However a deadly blast at an Iraqi military base underlined the persisting tensions in the region, as did more deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza and intensifying clashes in the West Bank.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory. Israel's war against the Islamic militant group Hamas has led to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East, notably between Israel and Iran in recent weeks. Now attention returns to Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million people are sheltering, many displaced by fighting elsewhere.

The US House passed $61 billion in fresh aid for Ukraine on Saturday, ending a six-month political impasse during which Kyiv’s stockpiles dwindled in its war against Russia. The Ukraine aid will be combined with funding for Israel and Taiwan, for a foreign assistance package totaling $95 billion. Speaker Mike Johnson worked with Democrats and overcame fierce objections from within his own party to funding Ukraine, ultimately pushing that legislation to passage on a 311 to 112 bipartisan vote. “We did our work here and history will judge us well,” Johnson said after the vote.

Three Hezbollah fighters were killed Saturday in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon, a source close to the Iran-backed group told AFP. 

"Three Hezbollah fighters were killed and two others seriously wounded in an Israeli air strike on a house in the area of Al-Jebbayn", the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said. 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported earlier on Saturday that "enemy aircraft carried out a strike targeting a house in Al-Jebbayn, and rescue teams were headed to the area."

In an ongoing raid around Nur Shams, a refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, Israeli army claimed that they have killed 10 militants, reported news agency AFP. 

Ever since the  war broke out in Gaza on 7 October, the violence has flared in the West Bank further. 

Amid the Israel-Hamas tensions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 20 April has requested Palestinians to unite in Gaza, following hours-long talks with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul, AFP reported his office as saying. 

Despite trying to establish a foothold as a mediator in the Gaza conflict –- roiled the Middle East since 7 October, he couldn't do much. 

With a reported Israeli attack on Iran, the tensions in the region have escalated. However, this time Erdogan called on Palestinians to unite. "It is vital that Palestinians act with unity in this process. The strongest response to Israel and the path to victory lie in unity and integrity," Erdogan said according to a Turkish presidency statement.

With United States vetoed a Palestinian request for full United Nations membership, President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent interview with the official WAFA news agency said that that the Palestinian Authority will reconsider bilateral relations with the U.S.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturdday said that the first priority of the international community should be ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, reported Reuters. Speaking in Istanbulduring a visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Fidan urged Iran and Israel to exercise restraint. Both Fidan and Shoukry expressed concern in the region over the ongoing escalation. "We've warned of the expansion of the conflict from the very beginning," Fidan said, adding, "We've called on both parties (Iran and Israel) to exercise restraint." With agency inputs.

Following the late Friday explosion at a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces that killed one person and injured eight others, Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were probing the incident, reported AP. 

The report claimed that Militia officials had initially described the explosion at the Kalsu military base north of Babylon as an airstrike. They also had baccused US forces, but later US Central Command denied in a statement that it had carried out any airstrikes in Iraq.