More than 60 rescue teams using search dogs and drones were sent to the mountainous protected forest area of Dizmar near the town of Varzaghan, the IRNA news agency reported.
International
Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza extended for two days
Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza extended for two days
The four-day truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has been extended for another two days, amid both sides’ praise for the rescued hostages.
According to the BBC, Qatar revealed this, and Hamas stated that the extension was granted “under the same conditions,” which were for 50 Israeli hostages to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian inmates.
Meanwhile, Israel has yet to confirm this, but it has stated that for every ten Israeli prisoners released, there will be a one-day break in warfare.
This occurred while both parties were preparing for the final exchange under the initial agreement, which went into force on Friday.
Hamas – which is regarded as a terrorist organisation by Israel – has freed 39 Israelis over the previous three days. In exchange, Israel has freed 117 Palestinian prisoners.
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Nineteen foreign nationals, one of whom has Israeli citizenship, have also been handed over by Hamas under separate agreements.
The cessation of the fighting has also allowed a tremendous rise in deliveries of aid to Gaza, where there is a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Before the extension was announced, a Palestinian official told the BBC between 20 to 40 additional Israeli hostages could be freed by Hamas.
An Israeli official meanwhile said that 184 people remained in captivity in Gaza, including 14 foreign nationals and 80 Israelis with dual citizenship.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza and imposed a siege in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and about 240 others taken hostage.
Gaza’s Hamas-run government says more than 14,800 people have been killed in the territory since the war began.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza extended for two days
International
BREAKING: Iranian Imam survived helicopter crash for an hour, tried to raise help – Report
BREAKING: Iranian Imam survived helicopter crash for an hour, tried to raise help – Report
As more details emerge about the helicopter crash, a harrowing picture is taking shape.
One of the passengers on board was Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, Friday Prayer Imam of Tabriz, the city the convoy was travelling to.
According to Mohammad Nami, head of Iran’s Crisis Management Agency, Al-Hashem survived for a whole hour after the crash. He even tried to make contact with the president’s office.
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“No DNA tests were needed to identify the passengers,” says Nami. In total, nine people including the flight crew were killed in the helicopter crash.
BREAKING: Iranian Imam survived helicopter crash for an hour, tried to raise help – Report
International
Updated: Iran President Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash
Updated: Iran President Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead in a helicopter crash that occurred on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also among those killed, along with seven others.
Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand said rescue teams headed towards the site of the crash after locating the aircraft.
He said, “The helicopter has been found. Now, we are moving toward the helicopter,” said Koolivand. “We are seeing the helicopter. The situation is not good.”
“Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reported about 15 hours after the aircraft went missing.
Iranian media including Fars news agency also shared drone images of what appeared to be the wreckage of the helicopter.
Raisi’s death comes at a moment in the Middle East, with war raging in Gaza.
The helicopter crashed weeks after Iran launched a drone-and-missile attack on Israel in response to a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.
Raisi became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021. Previously the chief justice, he oversaw a period of intensified repression of dissent in a nation convulsed by youth-led protests against clerical rule.
He was the second-most powerful person in the Islamic Republic’s political structure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.
The Iranian Constitution mandates that, in the case of the president’s death, the first vice president assumes office with the approval of the Supreme Leader.
Iran was thrown into uncertainty Sunday as search and rescue teams scoured a fog-shrouded mountain area after President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter went missing in what state media described as an “accident”.
Fears grew for the 63-year-old ultraconservative after contact was lost in East Azerbaijan province, reports said.
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Iranians to “not worry” about the leadership of the Islamic republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work”.
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“We hope that Almighty God will bring our dear president and his companions back in full health into the arms of the nation,” he said in a nationally televised address as Muslim faithful prayed for Raisi’s safe return.
Expressions of concern and offers to help came from abroad, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia, and Turkey, as well as from the European Union which activated its rapid response mapping service to aid in the search effort.
International
JUST IN: Helicopter carrying Iran’s president crash-lands
JUST IN: Helicopter carrying Iran’s president crash-lands
A helicopter carrying Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, has been involved in an plane crash on Sunday.
The incident happened while he was visiting neighbouring Azerbaijan, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on X on Sunday according to CNN.
“Some of the president’s companions on this helicopter were able to communicate with Central Headquarters, raising hopes that the incident could have ended without casualties,” it added.
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It is unclear what the exact status is of Raisi’s helicopter.
The helicopter was part of a convoy of three helicopters. Two of those helicopters were carrying ministers and officials who arrived at their destination safely, according to Tasnim.
“Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem, Tabriz’s Friday Prayer Imam, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were also reportedly on the helicopter with the president,” Tasnim said on X.
JUST IN: Helicopter carrying Iran’s president crash-lands
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