Conflict | Reports: Army compound near Baghdad hit

US media reported that Israel retaliated against Iran. Hesse calls the Iranian embassy. More information on the news blog.

Media reported that Israel carried out the attack in response to Iran. However, there are no official confirmations. Here you can find an overview. You can follow all current developments on the blog here:

12:30 PM: Several explosions have occurred in the south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The cause is still unclear, Reuters news agency reported. The scene is said to be a military base of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which is considered close to Iran. According to Arab media reports, drones were spotted in the air. The explosion apparently ignited the explosives.

The US has denied involvement. “We are aware of reports that the United States launched airstrikes in Iraq today. These reports are not true. The United States did not conduct airstrikes in Iraq today,” Central Command wrote in X.

Two sources told Reuters that the blast was the result of an airstrike that took place around midnight on Friday. There was no loss of life, but there was damage to property. The PMF is said to be headquartered at the Kalso military base near the city of Iskantaria, about 50 km south of Baghdad. It is not known who is responsible for this attack. The PMF was originally a coalition of armed groups, many of them close to Iran, later recognized by Iraqi authorities as part of the official security forces.

8:20 PM: The United Nations has expressed its concern over the large amount of garbage piled up in the Gaza Strip. The UN Office for Emergency Relief, OCHA, said these posed an environmental and health risk. According to local authorities, 270,000 tons of garbage remain undisposable across the Gaza Strip. This is because Israeli authorities have not granted access to the main landfill in the eastern part of Gaza City, either because garbage trucks have been destroyed in Israeli attacks or because they have run out of gasoline.

Waste disposal problems existed before the war, but they have worsened significantly since then. The massive evacuation of people to the southern part of the Gaza Strip has doubled the amount of debris there. Local authorities do not have the capacity to deal with it. Most camps for displaced people have uncontrolled garbage dumps.

5:35 PM: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Ismail Haniyeh, head of the terrorist organization Hamas, on Saturday. The meeting will be held in Istanbul. Erdogan has been one of Israel's fiercest critics since the start of the war, which was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel. Turkey's president considers Hamas an “opposition group”. Erdogan last received Hanija in Ankara in July 2023. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also participated in the meeting.

4:29 PM: Right-wing activist Pence Kopstein has also been affected by the third round of US sanctions against Israeli settlers. He is a confidant of Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Kopstein founded the Lehava group, “whose members are involved in destabilizing violence in the West Bank,” the US State Department explains. Under his leadership, acts of violence and threats of violence were committed against Palestinians.

1:14 pm: After the Israeli attack on Iran, President Olaf Schaalz called on all concerned to exercise restraint. “Degrowth is the order of the day,” the SPD politician said on the sidelines of an SPD conference on the North Sea island of Norderney. “We will talk about this with all our friends and partners and work with them in this direction.”

According to US media reports, Israel hit a target in Iran with one or more missiles on Friday night. No damage was initially reported. Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles over the weekend in response to a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, Syria.