America launched “self-defence strikes” against Iran after Donald Trump blamed the Islamic regime for downing an army Apache helicopter. Iran retaliated by attacking American bases and several other sites across the Middle East. Most of the missiles and drones were intercepted. Mr Trump warned that Iran would have to “pay the price” for taking too long to negotiate a peace deal; Pete Hegseth, America’s defence secretary, said “we’ll negotiate with bombs”. Before that, Israel bombed Iran for the first time since April. Iran had triggered the Israeli response by firing missiles and drones at northern Israel. That followed Israeli strikes on Hizbullah, an Iranian-proxy militia, in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.
The funeral was held for a Palestinian baby killed by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank. The baby was in a car that the soldier apparently perceived to be a threat and fired at as it approached a checkpoint, though the baby’s father said he had stopped the vehicle. The Israel Defence Forces admitted that the family were “uninvolved civilians” and offered its “deep sorrow”. Israeli military police have opened an investigation.
