Israel will continue to strike Hezbollah: Netanyahu

JERUSALEM, Apr 09 (AFP): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel would keep hitting Iran-backed Hezbollah "wherever necessary", the day after Israeli strikes pummelled Lebanon.
"We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with force, precision, and determination," Netanyahu said on his personal X account.
"Our message is clear: anyone who acts against Israeli civilians-we will strike them. We will continue to hit Hezbollah wherever necessary, until we fully restore security to the residents of the north" of Israel, he added.
The European Union on Thursday called on Israel to halt its strikes on Lebanon which it said were endangering the US-Iran ceasefire.
"Israeli actions are putting the US-Iran ceasefire under severe strain. The Iran truce should extend to Lebanon," the European Union's top diplomate Kaja Kallas said.

Thousands of Iranians rally
in memory of Khamenei
Thousands of Iranians paid tribute on Thursday to the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for nearly four decades until his killing in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the Middle East war.
His son Mojtaba Khamenei has succeeded him but he has not been seen in public since before the war, and it appeared unlikely that he would be present at ceremonies being held across Iran on Thursday.
Images broadcast on state television showed thousands of people taking part in rallies, many holding portraits of the late revolutionary, including in Urmia in the northwest, Gorgan in the northeast and the capital Tehran.

Israel military kills secy to
Hezbollah chief in Beirut
Israel's military said Thursday it had struck and killed a close adviser to Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem in Beirut a day earlier, when Israeli strikes pummelled Lebanon.
"Yesterday, the IDF struck in the Beirut area and eliminated Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem," a military statement said.
Harshi was "a close associate and personal adviser to... Qassem and played a central role in managing and securing his office", it added.

Spain to reopen embassy in Iran
Spain will reopen its embassy in Iran, which was closed in March due to the war, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Thursday, following the truce reached between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
"I have given instructions to our ambassador in Tehran to return, to resume his post and reopen the Spanish embassy in Tehran, and for us to contribute through all the means available to us, including from Iran's own capital, to efforts for peace," he told reporters in Madrid.

Bahrain reopens airspace
after US-Iran ceasefire
Bahrain said on Wednesday it had reopened its airspace, which had been closed since the start of the Middle East war, after Iran and the US agreed a two-week ceasefire.
Iraq had earlier announced it was reopening its airspace.
Civil aviation authorities have "announced the reopening of airspace over the Kingdom of Bahrain", the Bahrain News Agency reported.