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Reuters

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Tel Aviv football team says it is working to ‘stamp out racism’ among its fan base.

Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv has said it will turn down any tickets offered to its fans for a match in the United Kingdom, even if an earlier decision by local officials to bar the team’s followers from attending is reversed.

Maccabi Tel Aviv said on Monday that “hard lessons learned” meant it had decided to decline any offer of tickets for the Europa League game against Aston Villa.

“The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount,” the team said in a statement posted online. “Our decision should be understood in that context.”

The club also said it had been working to “stamp out racism” within the “more extreme elements” of its fan base.

“Our first-team squad consists of Muslims, Christian and Jewish players and our fan base also crosses the ethnic and religious divide,” it said.

The team’s decision came a day after Israeli police cancelled a match between Maccabi and its rival Tel Aviv team Hapoel before kickoff over what they described as “public disorder and violent riots”.

The move by Israeli authorities to cancel the game stood in contrast with criticism by British and Israeli leaders of Birmingham City’s decision to ban Maccabi fans from the November 6 match at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the ban by the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) “the wrong decision”, while Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar called for the “shameful” and “coward decision” to be reversed.

The UK government said on Friday that it was working to override local authorities to allow Israeli fans to be present.

But after Israeli police shut down the match between Tel Aviv teams on Sunday, some UK politicians questioned whether the government should intervene in Birmingham.

“To Keir Starmer and others who tried to make this about religion! Here’s more evidence. Even under the world’s spotlight, these fans chose violence, injuring police officers,” independent MP Ayoub Khan wrote in a post on X.

Richard Burgon, a Labour MP, broke with his government, saying the developments vindicated the decision to ban away fans from attending the game.

“This news exposes how absurd that campaign has been,” he said on X. “The people of Birmingham have a right to be kept safe.”

West Midlands Police said last week that they had classified the match as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.

“Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety,” the police force said.

Last year’s clashes in Amsterdam between pro-Palestinian supporters and fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv led to dozens of arrests.

The clashes followed incidents of Israeli fans rampaging through the Dutch capital, assaulting residents, destroying symbols of Palestinian solidarity and chanting racist and genocidal slogans against Palestinians and Arabs.

The clashes also featured reported incidents of anti-Semitism, including a private messaging chat calling for a “Jew hunt”.

Legal experts have also voiced concerns about Israeli teams participating in international sporting matches, citing a report by United Nations investigators that affirmed that Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.

Earlier this month, more than 30 legal experts wrote to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, saying that banning Israel from competitions was “imperative”.

“UEFA must not be complicit in sports-washing such flagrant breaches of international law, including but not limited to the act of genocide,” the experts wrote.

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv say they will not accept any ticket allocation from Aston Villa should the decision to ban their supporters from next month’s Europa League match be overturned.

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) – the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches – last week informed Villa no travelling fans would be permitted at the match in the city.

The decision was widely condemned, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy pledging that the government will “find the resources” to allow Maccabi fans to attend earlier on Monday.

But Maccabi Tel Aviv now say supporters will not travel for safety reasons – that “a toxic atmosphere has been created which makes the safety of our fans wishing to attend very much in doubt”.

A club statement said, external: “The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount, and from hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context.

“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”

“We are deeply saddened Maccabi Tel Aviv have turned down their away fan allocation but we respect their right to do so,” a government spokesperson said.

They added it was “completely unacceptable” that the match has been “weaponised to stoke violence and fear by those who seek to divide us”.

“The government has been working around the clock to defend a basic principle – that football fans should be able to enjoy a game without fear of intimidation or violence.”

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified the fixture as “high risk” based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam, in November 2024.

Nandy said ministers were working together to fund any necessary policing operation to allow away fans to attend, and the SAG would review the decision if West Midlands Police changed its risk assessment.

Nandy said the matter was wider than matchday security, adding it came “against the backdrop of rising antisemitism here and across the world, and an attack on a synagogue in Manchester in which two innocent men were killed”.

On Sunday, the Israeli Premier League derby between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was cancelled before kick-off, after what police described as “public disorder and violent riots”.

Maccabi say the decision to call that game off was not down to their supporters and thanked the UK government for its efforts.

They said: “We believe that football should be about bringing people together not driving them apart.

“Our fans regularly travel all over Europe without incident and to suggest that the reason our fans cannot be allowed to travel is due to their behaviour is an attempt to distort reality.

“We acknowledge the efforts of the UK government and police to ensure both sets of fans can attend the match safely, and are grateful for the messages of support from across the footballing community.”

Aston Villa previously told their matchday stewards they did not have to work at the Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture, saying they understood some “may have concerns”.

Following Thursday’s announcement by the club about the impending fixture, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the move “wrong” and said: “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv criticised the derby cancellation, accusing Israeli police of “preparing for a war, not a sporting event”, including during discussions in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated match.

“The shocking events outside the stadium and following the reckless and scandalous decision not to hold the match only demonstrate that the Israel Police has taken control of the sport,” Hapoel Tel Aviv said in a statement on X, external.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has not yet commented, except to confirm the match was cancelled.

The decision by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa match on 6 November has sparked widespread criticism.

The UK government has since said it is working to overturn the ban and exploring what additional resources might be required to ensure the fixture can be hosted safely.

Villa told their matchday stewards that they did not have to work at the game, saying they understood that some “may have concerns”.

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it supported the ban and classified the fixture as “high risk” based on intelligence and previous incidents.

That included “violent clashes and hate-crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024, when more than 60 people were arrested.

There have been protests at various sporting events over the war in Gaza, including when Israel played Norway and Italy in recent football World Cup qualifiers.

The government has said it is “doing everything in our power” to overturn a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a football match in Birmingham and is exploring what additional resources could be required.

On Thursday, Aston Villa said the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) decided that fans of the Israeli club should not be permitted to attend the Europa League fixture on 6 November over safety concerns.

Facing mounting pressure to resolve the situation, the government said it was working with police and exploring what additional resources are required.

A meeting of the SAG to discuss the match is expected next week, the Home Office said.

“No one should be stopped from watching a football game simply because of who they are,” a government spokesperson said.

They added the government was working with police and other bodies to ensure the game could “safely go ahead with all fans present”.

After it was announced on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer called the move to block fans attending “wrong”, adding “we will “not tolerate antisemitism on our streets”, while there has also been criticism from other party leaders.

The SAG – which advises the council on whether to issue safety certificates – will review the decision if West Midlands Police changes its risk assessment for the match, Birmingham City Council said.

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified the fixture as “high risk” based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including “violent clashes and hate crime offences” between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.

More than 60 people were arrested over the violence, which city officials described as a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The Home Office was briefed that restrictions on visiting fans might be imposed last week, but the BBC understands officials were not informed about the final decision until Thursday.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the revelation left the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, with “serious questions to answer” about why her department did “nothing” to avert the ban.

She said: “This is a weak government that fails to act when required.”

A source close to Mahmood told the BBC that “this is categorically untrue”.

“The first time the home secretary knew that the fans were being banned was last night,” they added.

Ayoub Khan, an independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr who campaigned on a pro-Gaza platform in last year’s general election, had pushed for the match to be cancelled due to safety concerns and welcomed Thursday’s decision.

Khan told BBC Newsnight “nobody should tolerate antisemitism” but added: “We cannot conflate antisemitism when we look at what some of these fans did in Amsterdam in 2024. The vile chants of racism and hatred, the chants that there are no schools left in Gaza because there are no children left in Gaza.”

Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa’s Jewish Villans supporters’ club, said he thought Khan’s comments on Amsterdam were “shameful”, describing what happened there as a “premeditated Jew hunt”.

Safety advisers in Birmingham City and UK police said Israeli team fans should not attend match due to ‘risks to public safety’.

Fans of the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv have been barred from attending a Europa League game against Aston Villa in the United Kingdom next month because of security concerns, the English club said.

Birmingham City’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) – the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches at Villa Park, where the game is to be played – informed Aston Villa that Maccabi Tel Aviv away fans will not be permitted to attend.

Aston Villa confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the “club has been informed that no away fans may attend the UEFA Europa League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday, November 6, following an instruction from the Safety Advisory Group”.

“Police have advised the SAG that they have public safety concerns outside the stadium bowl and the ability to deal with any potential protests on the night,” the club said.

Aston Villa can confirm the club has been informed that no away fans may attend the UEFA Europa League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 16, 2025

West Midlands Police said they had classified the match as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.

“Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety,” the police force said.

Last year’s clashes in Amsterdam between pro-Palestinian supporters and Israeli fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv led to dozens of arrests and five people imprisoned.

WMP supports Safety Advisory Group decision regarding Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv football match.

Click for our statement 👉 https://t.co/NMLkntX08n pic.twitter.com/GgxeYvc7Xm

— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) October 16, 2025

While accusations of anti-Semitic attacks quickly circulated following the clashes in Amsterdam on November 6 and 7, reports soon emerged of Israeli fans provoking the violence and of rampaging through the Dutch capital, assaulting residents, destroying symbols of Palestinian solidarity and chanting racist and genocidal slogans against Palestinians and Arabs.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and the London-based Jewish Leadership Council have all criticised the ban.

Starmer said in a post on social media that the ban was “the wrong decision”.

“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation,” he said.

This is the wrong decision.

We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.

The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.https://t.co/8aBeqE4qbA

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 16, 2025

Israel’s Foreign Minister Saar described the ban as a “shameful decision” and called on authorities in the UK to “reverse this coward decision”.

Shameful decision!
I call on the UK authorities to reverse this coward decision! https://t.co/K5h32VpYa6

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) October 16, 2025

The Jewish Leadership Council said it was “perverse that away fans should be banned from a football match because West Midlands Police can’t guarantee their safety”.

“Aston Villa should face the consequences of this decision and the match should be played behind closed doors,” the organisation added in a statement.

The move to ban away fans from the fixture in Birmingham comes amid growing calls to ban Israeli football teams from international competition over Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“We collected and verified extensive evidence of this systematic instrumentalisation of football culture in genocide,” Ashish Prashar, a campaign director at Game Over Israel, which has been pushing to ban Israel from FIFA and UEFA, told Al Jazeera. “This report integrates findings – from stadium racism, to assaults in Europe, to soldiers turning genocide into football propaganda – and demonstrates why Israel’s place in global sport is indefensible.”

More than 30 legal experts wrote earlier this month to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, saying that banning Israel from competitions was “imperative”, citing a report by United Nations investigators that confirmed Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.

The signatories highlighted the damage that Israel is inflicting on the sport and athletes in Gaza.

“These acts have decimated an entire generation of athletes, eroding the fabric of Palestinian sport,” the experts said.

“The failure of the Israel Football Association (IFA) to challenge these violations implicates it in this system of oppression, rendering its participation in UEFA competitions untenable,” they said.

“UEFA must not be complicit in sports-washing such flagrant breaches of international law, including but not limited to the act of genocide,” they added.

West Midlands Police said the upcoming game has been classified as “high risk” following a “thorough assessment”.

A spokesperson said: “This decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam.

“Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety.

“While the safety certificate is issued by Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police supports the decision to prohibit away supporters from attending.”

Football’s European governing body Uefa said it wanted fans to be able to travel and support their team in a “safe, secure and welcoming environment”.

Uefa told Reuters: “In all cases, the competent local authorities remain responsible for decisions related to the safety and security of matches taking place on their territory.”

Arrests were made after violence broke out before the match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November last year.

Amsterdam officials described the violence as a “toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

A ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on 10 October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court to testify in his corruption trial, days after U.S. President Trump called for him to be pardoned. Protesters outside the court demanded the trial continue as a test of Israel’s democracy. Netanyahu denies all charges.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and members of President Donald Trump’s family spoke to nearly half a million people in Tel Aviv who had gathered to celebrate the imminent return of Israeli captives. The crowd booed every time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mentioned, who they blame for prolonging the war.

Tottenham forward Mathys Tel says the online racist abuse he received after the club’s recent defeat in the Uefa Super Cup will not “bring him down”.

The 20-year-old Frenchman was the target of abusive messages on social media after Spurs lost the match 4-3 on penalties after letting a two-goal lead slip in normal time.

Tel came on as a substitute in the 79th minute and was one of two Spurs players who failed to convert from the spot in the penalty shootout.

Spurs said they were “disgusted” by the abuse and those who sent the messages to Tel, who joined the north London club from Bayern Munich permanently in the summer, were “nothing but cowards”.

Speaking for the first time since the incident in a post on his Instagram account, external Tel said he wanted to say “thank you” for all the “messages of support” he had received.

“I was also disappointed about Wednesday night but racism has no place in our society. Every day is a learning curve, and every day is a lesson,” Tel said.

“I know where I come from, where I started and none of this will bring me down. With work and humility, respect reigns.”

Tel’s comments come in the wake of racist abuse suffered by Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo in their opening match of the Premier League season against Liverpool at Anfield.

Last Friday’s game with the current champions was briefly halted in the 29th minute after Semenyo flagged it up to the referee.

A 47-year-old man from Liverpool, who was arrested by Merseyside Police on Saturday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, has been conditionally bailed.

French forward Mathys Tel was one of two Tottenham players to miss their penalties in the UEFA Super Cup defeat by PSG.

Tottenham has slammed the “cowards” who racially abused French forward Mathys Tel in the wake of the team’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup after a penalty shootout.

The 20-year-old Tel, who is Black, was one of two Tottenham players who failed to convert their penalties as they lost the shootout 4-3 to PSG after a 2-2 draw.

“We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night’s UEFA Super Cup defeat,” Tottenham said in a statement.

“Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views.”

Tottenham said the club will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take “the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify”.

“We stand with you, Mathys,” Spurs added.

Tel, who joined the team on a permanent basis from Bayern Munich in the offseason after a loan spell last season, went on as a substitute in the 79th minute when Tottenham was 2-0 ahead.

He hit his shootout penalty wide.

Protesters from the Israeli activist group, Brothers and Sisters in Arms, etched an anti-war message in the sand near a US embassy building in Tel Aviv. It demanded President Donald Trump intervene to stop the war in Gaza.

Dutch prosecutors have dropped charges against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans after CCTV footage showing violence towards Muslim women last November was erased. Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen is in Amsterdam, where the decision has sparked controversy over alleged double standards.

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict enters a second week, killing at least 430 people in Iran and 24 in Israel.

A key nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province has come under Israeli attack, with local officials saying there were no radiation leaks.

Early on Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in the city of Isfahan after Israeli air strikes hit the nuclear site overnight, triggering the air defence system.

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict between the Middle Eastern nations entered a second week, killing at least 430 people and wounding nearly 3,500 others in Iran, according to Iran’s health ministry.

No casualties were reported in the Isfahan attack, authorities said.

Israeli forces also hit a military installation in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iranian media.

On the Israeli side, explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, where buildings were seen on fire.

In central Israel, the emergency services released images showing fire on the roof of a multi-storeyed residential building. Local media reports said the blaze was caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile that was intercepted.

At least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missile attacks in Israel, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel has killed Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) overseas arm, in a strike on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom.

Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said in a statement that Izadi had allegedly financed and armed the Palestinian group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

IRGC said five of its members died in Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on United States and British sanctions lists.

Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israel claims it attacked Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, although Iranian negotiators were engaged in talks with the US to curb its enrichment programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and US intelligence have both said there were no signs that Iran was building a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran having enriched uranium beyond the threshold needed for civilian purposes.

However, Trump on Friday said US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was “wrong” in saying that Iran was not developing a nuclear bomb.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Al Jazeera that Tehran remains open to dialogue at the United Nations and other such forums.

“We believe in listening to the other side. That’s why our diplomats are present in Geneva, to hear the other side out,” Mohajerani said, adding that any diplomacy must begin with global recognition of Israel’s attack on Iran.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said Iranians are angry over Israel “not just targeting nuclear facilities and military complexes”.

“The reality on the ground is ordinary people are being attacked on a daily basis,” he said.

“Many in the Iranian capital have chosen to leave, but we have to keep in mind we’re talking about 10 million people living in Tehran city and 14 million in Tehran province. It’s putting pressure on surrounding areas.”

Tottenham have signed French forward Mathys Tel on a permanent deal from Bayern Munich.

Spurs have agreed to pay a fee of about £30m for the 20-year-old, who will sign a six-year contract when his loan deal ends on 30 June.

Tel, who is with the France squad at the European Under-21 Championship, joined Spurs on loan during the January transfer window.

He made 20 appearances for Spurs last season, scoring three goals, and was an unused substitute for their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Explosions and air raid sirens are being heard again in Iran and Israel as the two nations continue to exchange missiles and drones, a day after the Israeli military killed top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists in the worst such escalation in decades.

Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least four people and wounded more than 200 others in Israel since Friday, as a barrage of dozens of Iranian missiles lit up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight.

On the Iranian side, at least 80 people, including women and children, have been killed and more than 320 others injured, as the Israeli army targeted residential areas in capital Tehran, military sites and nuclear facilities, killing at least nine nuclear scientists so far.

Accusing Israel of initiating a war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it “must expect severe punishment” for killing several top-level military commanders and scientists.

In a message on state TV, he said Israel “should not think that it is over because they attacked and it is finished”.

“No. They started this and initiated the war. We won’t allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,” Khamenei said.

Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region.

‘Tehran will burn’

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz warned on Saturday that “Tehran will burn” and its residents will pay dearly if Iran continues its missile strikes against Israeli civilians.

“The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing about a reality in which they – especially the residents of Tehran – will pay a heavy price because of the criminal harm to Israeli civilians,” said Katz.

“If Khamenei continues to fire missiles towards the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” the minister added.

On Saturday, two projectiles hit Tehran’s Mehrabad airport which hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft, and is located close to key Iranian government buildings.

“The attacks caused explosions at the airport but did not affect any runways, buildings or facilities,” Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA said.

The Israeli military also continued to launch strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.

“There has been limited damage to some areas at the Fordow enrichment site,” ISNA news agency reported Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying on Saturday.

“We had already moved a significant part of the equipment and materials out, and there was no extensive damage and there are no contamination concerns.”

Israel’s Iron Dome penetrated

Meanwhile, several Iranian missiles penetrated Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and struck central Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan areas.

Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending residents rushing into shelters. An Israeli official said Iran had fired about 200 ballistic missiles in four waves.

A high-rise building was hit overnight in a densely populated area of central Tel Aviv. At least nine buildings were also destroyed in Ramat Gan, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Mike Huckabee, the United States ambassador to Israel, said he had to go to shelters five times overnight amid Iran’s missile barrage. “It’s now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won’t be. Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter,” he posted on X.

The Israeli army on Saturday said seven of its soldiers were wounded in a ballistic missile attack on central Israel. They were taken to hospitals and have since been released, according to a military statement.

This is the first confirmation of Israeli military casualties since the escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel began two days ago.

Meanwhile, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that five people in the occupied West Bank were also injured as rocket shrapnel fell near the town of Sa’ir near Hebron. The five injured included three children, aged six, seven and 12.

Wafa earlier reported that Israel had imposed widespread closures across the occupied West Bank amid the escalating conflict with Iran. Israeli forces have shut down roads, set up checkpoints and prevented freedom of movement for the Palestinians.

Iran warns Israel’s allies

Iran has also warned Israel’s allies – the United States, the United Kingdom and France – that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help defend Israel.

“Any country that participates in repelling Iranian attacks on Israel will be subject to the targeting of all regional bases of the complicit government, including military bases in the Persian Gulf countries and ships and naval vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea by Iranian forces,” a government statement said, according to Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency.

Iran has already accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences.

Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University in Australia, said both Israel and Iran appear to be “settling in for the long haul” and more attacks could be expected. He said the US would also be dragged into the conflict.

“When Israel launches attacks on Iran, Iran has to respond, and I think Israel is actually banking on this dynamic – that once the conflict starts, the United States has an obligation and a commitment to Israeli security,” Akbarzadeh told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people in Iran to stand up to the “evil and oppressive” regime under Khamenei and seek “freedom”.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said according to the people in Iran, Netanyahu’s message was unwelcome.

“We have to remember that Iranian people are living under the shadow of war, which is now getting translated into a real war. They are also under the pressure of sanctions,” he said.

“People are angry, specifically at the fact that it’s not just military officials and nuclear scientists but very ordinary citizens who were affected by the recent strikes.”

In a speech to Israel’s parliament, the Argentinian leader criticised Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Argentinian President Javier Milei has announced that his country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem next year, as the populist leader signalled his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s increasingly isolated government.

Argentina’s embassy is currently located in Herzliya, just outside Tel Aviv. But in a speech to Israel’s parliament on Wednesday, staunchly pro-Israel Milei said he was “proud to announce” his country will move its “embassy to the city of west Jerusalem” in 2026.

“Argentina stands by you in these difficult days,” Milei said.

“Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about a large part of the international community that is being manipulated by terrorists and turning victims into perpetrators,” he told the Knesset.

The Argentinian leader, currently on his second state visit to Israel since taking office in 2023, said Buenos Aires will continue to demand that Israeli captives held in Gaza be released, including four with Argentinian citizenship taken during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

Milei also criticised Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was detained and deported by Israeli authorities this week after being taken with other activists from a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza.

Thunberg has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and deliberate starvation of the territory’s Palestinian population.

“[Thunberg] became a hired gun for a bit of media attention, claiming that she was kidnapped when there are really hostages in subhuman conditions in Gaza,” Milei said, according to a translation of his remarks from Spanish provided by the Knesset.

Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with the overall death toll after more than 20 months of war surpassing 55,000 Palestinians.

Delicate issue

Milei had pledged to move Argentina’s embassy during his first visit in February 2024, in which he also prayed at the Western Wall, a revered religious site for Jews in Jerusalem.

Speaking in advance of Milei’s address to parliament this week, Prime Minister Netanyahu said “the city of Jerusalem will never be divided again”.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, with Israel claiming the entirety of the ancient city as its capital, while Palestine claims its occupied eastern sector as the site of any future Palestinian state.

Israel first occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, before unilaterally annexing it in 1980 in a move rejected by the United Nations Security Council. Due to its disputed status, the vast majority of the 96 diplomatic missions present in Israel host their embassies in the Tel Aviv area to avoid interfering with peace negotiations.

Currently only six countries – Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and the United States – have embassies located in West Jerusalem.

During his first term in 2017, President Donald Trump made the shock decision to unilaterally recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital before moving the US embassy there a year later, prompting Palestinian anger and the international community’s disapproval.

This status was not revoked under the Biden administration and Washington continues to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital today.