Far-right demonstrations turned violent for a second night across England Wednesday, in the wake of this week’s mass stabbing in Southport – the worst attack on children in the country in recent history.

While a community continues to grieve the murder of three young girls, far-right agitators have mobilized around online misinformation and hateful, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim narratives – fueling disorder in London, Manchester and the northeastern town of Hartlepool.

Chaotic scenes unfolded in the capital on Wednesday night, with protesters from the “Enough is Enough” demonstration throwing bottles and cans at police, and hurling flares toward the gates of Downing Street while chanting far-right, anti-Islam slogans, including, “We want our country back.”

In Manchester, demonstrators wearing balaclavas gathered outside a hotel that houses asylum seekers, and in Hartlepool, police cars were set ablaze by a mob who carried sticks and pelted officers with objects.

More than 100 people in London were arrested for “violent disorder” and an “assault on an emergency worker,” according to the city’s Metropolitan Police. There were two arrests in Manchester, and eight in Hartlepool, according to police there.

The violence follows Tuesday’s night of unrest in the northwest English town of Southport, where a group of far-right protesters hurled bricks at a mosque, set cars and police vehicles on fire and clashed with police barely an hour after a peaceful vigil for Bebe King (6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) and Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9) was held across town.

Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack and five of them are in critical condition. Two adults also remain in critical condition after being injured in the attack, police said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the scenes, saying the protesters “hijacked” the community’s grief.

Met police superintendent Neil Holyoak said that while “it is understandable the public have strong feelings” about the Southport stabbings, “the subsequent violent, unlawful disorder that unfolded was completely unacceptable and driven by misinformation.”

Shortly after Monday’s attack, far-right groups began to circulate a false name for the alleged attacker across social media, and falsely claimed that he was an asylum seeker.

The suspect is a 17-year-old from Banks, Lancashire. He was born in Cardiff, Wales, according to police.

Axel Rudakubana, who was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, was named on Thursday after a judge lifted reporting restrictions.

Less than 24 hours after the attack, however, before the suspect’s name had been released, the false name had already received over 30,000 mentions from more than 18,000 unique accounts on X alone – and was amplified by prominent far-right leaders, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).

That false name had been also recommended to users through X’s algorithm, and was trending as a top recommended search result for users under the “What’s happening” sidebar.

“White nationalists will seize on any opportunity to spread misinformation about Muslims, about anyone who’s not White. So they were immediately on it – and were happy to spread basically whatever would confirm their presuppositions about who had done it,” he said.

Whether it was a malicious actor, or whether it was someone who was looking for “clicks,” is unclear, Squirrell added. “But we do know that the name that they gave out was made up… and that all the details are completely made up.”

Squirrell pointed to the fact that the viral posts about the alleged attacker said that he was on a watch list for MI6, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. However, MI5 – MI6’s internal counterpart – is the organization responsible for fighting domestic terrorism. “They gave out details that were basically designed to pick up the attention of the far-right, and also for anyone who is concerned about migration,” he said.

Algorithms tend to favor emotive, sensationalist, outrageous, engaging content – because they are based on engagement.

“Things that people on the far-right – or people who are interested in peddling misinformation as a way of getting engagement – tend to post things that will appeal to the algorithm,” Squirrell said. He added that, while the algorithm played a part, there was also a “huge amount of organizing happening” in a variety of different places that are not algorithmically oriented – for example in far-right groups on the instant-messaging platform Telegram.

Such Telegram groups have been instrumental in organizing these demonstrations.

Hope Not Hate, a UK advocacy group that campaigns against racism and fascism, identified one of the first Telegram groups that appeared on the encrypted social media network just hours after the Southport stabbings.

Like what was being shared on X and other platforms, the Telegram group “Southport Wake Up,” also posted false information about the alleged suspect. Hours after the attack, the group’s creator sent out the details for the first protest: Meet near a Southport mosque on Tuesday.

It was there that the violence began.

The “Southport Wake Up” group is still active, and on Thursday, posted calls for similar disruptions at Muslim centers in other cities across England.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Starmer was set to meet with senior police leaders in London on Thursday.

In a statement, Downing Street said: “While the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law.”

The Israeli military said its fighter jets killed Hamas’ military chief in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, in a strike in Khan Younis last month, according to a statement released Thursday.

Israel’s claim that Deif was killed came nearly three weeks after it carried out the strike.

During that time, Israeli officials said they had indications their strike was successful but were not able to confirm that he was killed until now.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

A teenage boy has been charged with murder after three young girls were killed in a stabbing attack at a dance class in northwest England on Monday, British police said.

Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were stabbed to death while attending a Taylor Swift-themed class in the town of Southport, in one of the worst assaults against children in the country in decades.

Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack and five of them are in critical condition, police said. Two adults also remain in critical condition after being injured in the attack.

Merseyside Police said Wednesday that they charged a 17-year-old boy from the nearby village of Banks with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, as well as possession of a “bladed article.”

Police have not named the suspect because he is a minor.

The suspect will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

“Whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW),” Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said in a statement.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire Sarah Hammond stressed that “criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings,” Hammond added.

The charges came as grieving Southport residents cleaned up after far-right protesters crashed a vigil held on Tuesday for those killed in the attack, clashing with police, throwing bricks at a mosque and setting vehicles alight.

The violence followed a peaceful vigil in the seaside town attended by hundreds of mourners who laid wreaths, toys and candles in an emotional tribute to the three girls who were killed.

Police said five people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence in Southport, in which more than 50 police officers were injured.

“Our work to identify all those responsible for the despicable violence and aggression seen on the streets of Southport on Tuesday continues,” Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said in a statement.

“The individuals involved in the disorder had no regard for the families and friends of those who so tragically lost their lives, and a community in grief. It has been heartening today to see the reaction of the whole community, who have pulled together to clean the streets, rebuild walls and re-glaze broken windows.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the protests in Southport as “thuggery” and said those involved “will feel the full force of the law.”

Israel will not be invited to this year’s peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki to promote a “peaceful and somber atmosphere” at the August 9 event, the city’s mayor told local media Wednesday.

Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its actions in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israeli began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack.

Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters Wednesday that Israel’s exclusion was due to security concerns and was not a political decision.

“I would like to emphasize that this decision was not based on political considerations, but rather on our desire to hold the ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombings in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere, and to ensure that the ceremony goes smoothly,” he said, calling the decision “difficult.”

The arrangement differs with Hiroshima, the first city hit with an atomic bomb during the closing stages of World War II, that ultimately led to Japan’s unconditional surrender.

Every year diplomats are invited to peace ceremonies in both cities, held within days of each other, to reflect on the importance of peace and perils of deploying nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima’s annual peace ceremony is the larger of the two and representatives from 115 countries and the European Union are set to attend this year.

Tens of thousands of people were killed by the 1945 atomic bombs, both instantly and in the months and years to come due to radiation sickness.

In a post on X, Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen described Nagasaki’s decision as “regrettable,” adding it “sends a wrong message to the world.”

“Israel is exercising its full right and moral obligation to defend itself and its citizens and will continue to do so. There is no comparison between Israel, which is being brutally attacked by terrorist organizations and any other conflict, any attempt to present it otherwise distorts the reality,” he said.

Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations from critics including rights groups and experts that it has broken international humanitarian law with the breadth of its response to Hamas’ attacks. It argues its war is against Hamas, not Palestinians.

A controversial invitation

The ceremony in Nagasaki will take place at the city’s Peace Park on August 9, marking the day the US military dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, three days after that of Hiroshima.

Nagasaki officials had previously indicated some reluctance to host Israel at the event.

In June, Suzuki sent a letter to Israel calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, leaving an invitation to the ceremony on hold due to a risk of “unexpected situations” such as protests, according to Kyodo News.

On Wednesday, Suzuki said he had not seen any changes in recent weeks that would lessen the risk of inviting Israel.

Hiroshima authorities don’t appear to have the same security concerns, despite having sidelined Russia and Belarus to order “to ensure the ceremony goes smoothly,” according to a spokesperson.

Both countries have been excluded from the event since 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Russia used Belarus as one of the launch pads for its assault and later moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons there.

Some local activists and peace advocates accused Hiroshima authorities of double standards for excluding Russia and Belarus but allowing Israel to take part.

Within 72 hours of the start of the Paris Olympics, star Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei had already climbed the champions’ podium twice. The former gold medalist won two bronzes as China fights to best rivals like the United States and Australia.

But the wins for Zhang, dubbed China’s “butterfly stroke queen,” have come under scrutiny – both from her legions of fans and the wider sporting world.

The Chinese team is at the center of a controversy that’s roiled international sport following revelations that nearly half the group Beijing sent to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, including Zhang, had months earlier tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance.

The swimmers had been cleared by China’s Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) shortly before the Tokyo Games, after it ruled that the positive tests for banned heart drug trimetazidine – believed to aid endurance and recovery time – were the result of contamination, likely from a hotel restaurant. The global sports doping watchdog World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the assessment without an appeal.

But the situation, first reported by the New York Times and German public broadcaster ARD in April, has sparked backlash in the swimming world, where doping can result in years-long bans for athletes who violate the rules. The Times reported that Zhang was one of the swimmers who tested positive at the time.

Concern only deepened Tuesday, after WADA acknowledged a separate 2022 case in which two Chinese swimmers tested positive for “trace amounts of a prohibited substance metandienone,” a banned anabolic steroid. They were provisionally suspended but later cleared of a violation by CHINADA – again citing contamination linked to food, WADA said.

Since the 2021 case came to light, prominent athletes have voiced concerns about the anti-doping system. US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart accused WADA of engaging in a cover-up and earlier this week said its failures had “overshadowed” the Olympics. The US government is separately pursuing a criminal investigation.

The furor has continued even after the release earlier this month of interim results from a probe into WADA’s handling of the 2021 case. The report, conducted by an independent investigator, backed the anti-doping body’s decision not to appeal the case. A separate audit by swimming governing body World Aquatics also said it found that body hadn’t mismanaged the case when it too decided not to appeal.

Deepening controversy

For China’s athletes, however, the pressure is apparent.

As races got underway this weekend, Zhang told reporters she was “deeply worried” that other athletes would view her through a “biased lens” and be reluctant to compete against her.

“I feel so wronged,” said Zhang, denying that Chinese swimmers engaged in doping.

And concerns about transparency within the anti-doping system continue to swirl, especially following the latest revelation.

The 2022 case, reported by the Times earlier this week, involves a swimmer on the Chinese roster in Paris, according to the paper.

WADA said in its statement that it had thoroughly reviewed that case, which it linked to two other positive tests from Chinese athletes in other sports earlier this year, and “concluded that there was no evidence” to challenge the Chinese finding that contaminated meat was the source of the positive tests. It noted that Chinese authorities had found the steroid in meat samples it tested.

The body also said it had been “unfairly caught in the middle of geopolitical tensions between superpowers” – in an apparent reference to the pushback it’s received from the US and its anti-doping agency.

In a statement CHINADA said the latest news report “distorted the fact(s) and quoted the relevant case out of context,” noting the “issue of meat contamination of prohibited substances is prevalent worldwide and similar cases have occurred in many countries and regions.”

Under pressure

In China, where the swim team has long been a source of Olympic glory, the situation has brought outrage and accusations of unfair treatment.

Chinese social media was flooded with an outpouring of support for Zhang over the weekend, as fans called for her not to be upset over a third-place finish Monday in the 100-meter butterfly. Zhang, who won silver in the event in Tokyo, was seen with tears in her eyes at the podium.

“Despite the immense pressure, the fact that you have won a medal is the best outcome,” wrote one social media user on the platform Weibo.

“It mirrors China’s continuous growth and revival, even as it faces encirclement and suppression from the West,” the post added, echoing a point made by many users who portrayed the latest controversy as orchestrated by the US.

“It’s high time to slam our fists on the table over the exclusive global drug system that the US has orchestrated,” said another.

At the heart of the outrage in China is the scrutiny the Chinese swim team has faced in Paris.

Earlier this month, global swimming body World Aquatics acknowledged the 2021 case had “weakened” community trust in its anti-doping system and pledged to test certain athletes “including Chinese athletes taking part in the Paris Olympic Games,” more frequently than others.

Last week, the body said Chinese swimmers have been tested more than those from all other countries, averaging 21 times per swimmer since the start of the year. That compares with an average of four times overs the same period for Australian swimmers and six times for Americans.

China’s Pan Zhanle, who took gold in the 100-meter men’s freestyle on Wednesday after smashing the world record, said he had been tested more than 20 times in the past few months. He said he didn’t feel “there was any difference or influence (on his performance),” since it was done according to the rules.

But some in China say the testing regime is hurting the team.

On Monday, retired two-time Olympic diving champion Gao Min pointed to Zhang’s bronze win and star swimmer Qin Haiyang’s seventh-place finish in the 100-meter men’s breaststroke.

“Something must have gone awry with the athletes’ pre-competition training. Personally, I believe that seven doping tests in one day might have disrupted our Chinese swimming team,” Gao wrote on Weibo.

A related hashtag received nearly 90 million views, with commentors claiming “unfair” treatment of China’s swimmers and even a conspiracy to disrupt the team’s medal tally by “affecting normal routine and training.”

“Why don’t you complain? Don’t athletes need a break?” said one comment with thousands of likes.

When questioned by a Chinese state media reporter about the testing regime at a briefing in Paris last week, a WADA official said the Chinese swimmers “should be happy that they can show that they’ve been tested so many times, therefore, hopefully the wrong allegations that are put against them can be disproven.”

Two Al Jazeera correspondents were killed in a reported Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza, on Wednesday, according to the news network, sparking condemnation from advocacy groups and highlighting the dangers for local reporters covering the war.

Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, who lived in the besieged enclave, were killed in an airstrike on their car in the al Shati refugee camp, according to the Qatar-based network. The journalists, both aged 27, were reporting live for much of the day from a location close to the family home of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday.

Al-Ghoul was wearing a press flak vest when he was killed, according to his colleague. He had not seen his wife and two-year-old daughter Zeina, who were displaced in central Gaza, in 10 months. “These days are not like any other,” he said in a post on X in June. “Zeina began running, talking, asking questions… She was growing up without me seeing her.”

Al Jazeera condemned what it claimed was the “targeted assassination” of its journalists by Israeli forces, claiming the attack was “part of a systematic targeting campaign against the network’s journalists and their families since October 2023.”

The network’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, said in a post on X that Al-Ghoul was “renowned for his professionalism and dedication, bringing the world’s attention to the suffering and atrocities committed in Gaza… Without Ismail, the world would not have seen the devastating images of these massacres.”

More than nine months of Israel’s bombing campaign has shredded the besieged enclave, erased entire neighborhoods and deepened a humanitarian crisis. Palestinian reporters have become the eyes and ears of those suffering under the shadow of war. Both Israel and Egypt, which control Gaza’s borders, have so far refused to give international journalists unfettered access to the strip, saying that they cannot guarantee their safety.

It is the photos, footage and reporting from local reporters, often gathered at great personal risk, that have shown the world what is happening. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has marked the deadliest period for journalists since 1992. As of July 31, at least 111 journalists and media workers have been killed since October — 109 of whom were Palestinian — according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“I was going home close to where we were filming when one, exactly one missile from a drone targeted Ismail and Rami,” said Ayman Abed, a resident of Al-Shati camp. “There was nothing unusual except the sound of drones in the sky humming. It was one strike on their car.”

Israel launched its military offensive after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others abducted.

Israeli strikes in Gaza have since killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and injured another 90,000, according to the Ministry of Health there.

‘Israel must stop killing journalists’

Palestinian journalists and press freedom groups paid tribute to Al-Ghoul and Al-Rifi in the wake of the attack, demanding greater accountability for those responsible for attacks on reporters in Gaza.

The CPJ asked Israel to explain the killing of both Al Jazeera staffers, in what it said, “appears to be a direct strike.” Jodie Ginsberg, the CPJ chief, added: “Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted.”

The world’s largest union for journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, also criticized the strike, in a post on X: “We are running out of words to condemn this massacre. Israel must stop killing journalists.”

Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, recalled his friendship with the Al Jazeera journalist. “It’s a difficult and painful feeling to cover this horrific story; he’s my friend and colleague, and we’re together in the field most of the time during this war,” he said.

“Our colleague Ismail was wearing this blood-stained vest,” fellow Al Jazeera journalist Yousef Al Saudi said, as he removed the “PRESS” sign from the jacket. “The sign was covered by blood to silence the world and the images in Gaza. The pictures continue and the coverage continues, God willing.”

Choking back tears, Al Sharif said: “Dear Ismail, we will complete the mission after you.”

Another video shows journalist Wadi Shehandeh addressing a crowd, saying: “By targeting us as media professionals, they want this coverage to stop, and to silence us. But no, by God, if only one of the media professionals remained in northern Gaza, they will continue to share the images.”

He said journalists in Gaza would not cease their coverage, adding, “Ismail is not dead. Ismail lives in our hearts. His message will continue.”

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro warned Wednesday that he will not hesitate to call on the population for a “new revolution” if forced by what he calls “North American imperialism and fascist criminals.”

Maduro’s comments come amid deadly protests across the country following its disputed presidential election victory, which the US and several other countries have refused to recognize.

“I would not like to go to other ways of making revolution, I say it solemnly from political power, we want to continue the path that [Hugo] Chavez outlined,” Maduro said in Caracas during a press conference with international media.

“But if North American imperialism and fascist criminals force us, my pulse will not tremble to call the people to a new revolution with other characteristics,” he added.

The president’s comments come just hours after US National Security spokesman John Kirby called on Maduro to “come clean” on Sunday’s election.

“Our patience, and that of the international community, is running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full, detailed data on this election so everyone can see the results,” Kirby told reporters during Wednesday’s White House press briefing.

Kirby said the US and other nations share “serious concerns of the reports of casualties, violence and arrests, including the arrests warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today (Wednesday) for opposition leaders.”

“Alongside the international community, we are watching, and we are going to respond accordingly,” Kirby said.

20 ‘credible reports’ of deaths

The Venezuelan leader’s comments came as Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had received 20 “credible reports” of deaths connected to the nationwide protests over the election results.

“We are working to document and corroborate each case,” Juanita Goebertus, HRW Director for the Americas, wrote on X.

Foro Penal, a local NGO, reported on Tuesday that a total of 11 people have died during the protests.

Of those killed, five died in Caracas, two in Zulia and Yaracuy, and one in Aragua and Tachira, the head of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, told reporters on Tuesday.

So far, the Venezuelan government has not published any information regarding the death of civilians.

The assassination of the political leader of Hamas has plunged the Middle East into fresh crisis and dented already slim hopes of an end to the war between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza anytime soon.

Hamas on Wednesday said Israel killed its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran, hours after Israel claimed a strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed a senior Hezbollah commander who it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing.

Experts say the assassinations throw an ominous shadow on efforts to procure a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza, as well as hopes of de-escalation between Israel and its Iran-backed rivals in the region.

Here’s what the killing of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders means for the Gaza war and the region.

Future of ceasefire talks unclear

Months of negotiations on a deal to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas had already hit repeated roadblocks before Haniyeh, a key player in the talks, was killed on Tuesday night.

As recently as early July, Haniyeh was in touch with mediators in Qatar and Egypt to discuss ideas on ending the war, sparking some hope that the two sides could be on the brink of a framework agreement.

All of that could now be thrown up in the air by his death.

“He was someone who saw the value of a deal and was instrumental to getting certain breakthroughs in the talks,” the source said, adding that “at this stage, it’s unclear what the effect will be on ceasefire talks.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas talks, wrote on X: “Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?”

Qatar, which has helped release some of the Israeli hostages, sheltered the Hamas leader before his death, and the group’s political bureau has been based in its capital Doha since 2012.

Questions will also be asked about the calculations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who many observers – including families of the hostages – have accused of deliberately stalling on negotiations and dragging out the war to safeguard his own political survival.

“Netanyahu has systematically sabotaged ceasefire talks because ending the war will likely end his political career,” said Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, a US-based foreign policy think tank, in a post on X. “The assassination buys Netanyahu several weeks, if not months, in which there will be no serious expectation of a ceasefire deal.”

Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli hostage negotiator who once acted as a channel to Hamas, noted that negotiations were already deadlocked even before the assassination of Haniyeh.

Now, Baskin said, it is unclear how much longer Qatari and Egyptian mediators will allow themselves “to be played by Israel and Hamas,” adding that it may be time for the mediators to put a deal on the table and ask parties to “take it or leave it.”

A faltered negotiation process also extends the risk to the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

The Hostages Families Forum said Wednesday that “true achievement” in the war can only be realized with the release of all hostages still in captivity, saying they “implore the Israeli government and global leaders to decisively advance negotiations.”

“Time is of the essence,” the Forum said in a statement. “This is the time for a deal.”

There are 111 hostages still in Gaza, including 39 believed to be dead, according to data from Netanyahu’s office. Their families have repeatedly slammed Netanyahu for failing to secure their release.

No respite for the suffering in Gaza

Without a ceasefire, Gaza’s besieged population will find no respite from the war, which has so far killed more than 39,000 people, according to the health ministry in the strip. Swathes of the territory have been flattened, and a humanitarian crisis is rapidly spiraling out of control.

The war, which Israel launched in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, has also displaced almost all of Gaza’s population of 2 million, with 86% of the territory now under Israeli evacuation orders.

Qatar’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said Haniyeh’s killing “would lead to the region sliding into a cycle of chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”

Egypt, a key mediator in the conflict but whose ties with Israel have been strained since October 7, had condemned what it called “Israel’s dangerous policy of escalation” and warned against “the nonsense policy of assassination and violation of the sovereignty of states.”

In a statement, Egypt said the two killings risk “igniting” confrontation in the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the United States was “not aware of or involved in” Haniyeh’s killing and that the Biden administration had been working “from day one” for a ceasefire to prevent the conflict from spreading to other regions.

HA Hellyer, scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London, said that unless there is an active effort to cool tensions in the region, “escalation will happen by, unfortunately, default.”

Russia has launched one of the largest drone attacks on Ukraine since the war began, mainly targeting overnight the region in and around the capital Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian military, which said all 89 drones fired were shot down.

It marks the largest attack on the capital so far this year, and the seventh time Russia has targeted Kyiv this month, military officials said on Wednesday.

The “massive” attack lasted more than seven hours and the drones came in two waves, Kyiv officials said, adding that “not a single drone reached its target.”

There were no hits to residential or critical infrastructure and no casualties in the Kyiv region, according to regional military head Ruslan Kravchenko. However, 13 houses were damaged and rescuers extinguished one fire caused by the downed drones. “The majority of the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] debris fell outside of the settlements,” he added.

Dramatic video released by the Ukrainian Air Force shows one drone on fire, falling from the sky and landing in a field — causing a large cloud of smoke but no visible damage.

Russia also attacked the country’s Mykolaiv region with an X-59 guided missile from the airspace of the occupied Kherson region, which Ukraine said it also shot down. However, separate attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine killed at least two people Wednesday morning.

The Kremlin did not comment on the attacks in its regular briefing with reporters on Wednesday.

Repeated calls for more air defense systems

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk called the drone barrage targeting Kyiv “one of the most massive attacks by Shahed-131/136” drones, comparing it to the Russian attack on New Year’s Eve in which 90 Shaheds were launched.

“Just like then, today the Ukrainian air defense has withstood and repelled a massive attack by enemy drones,” he said. “Mobile fire groups of all the Ukrainian Defence Forces, tactical aviation of the Air Force and Army Aviation of the Land Forces, anti-aircraft missile units and electronic warfare units of the Air Force were involved in repelling the air attack.”

During another wave of aerial attacks days before the New Year’s Eve holiday, Russia fired an unprecedented number of drones and missiles at targets across Ukraine, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 150 others, according to Ukrainian officials at the time.

Since then, Ukraine has repeatedly pleaded for allies to provide more air defense systems.

“Ukrainians can fully protect their skies from Russian strikes when they have sufficient supplies,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

“The same level of defense is needed against Russian missiles and the occupier’s combat aircraft. And this can be achieved. We need sufficiently courageous decisions from our partners — enough air defense systems, enough range,” Zelensky added. “And Ukrainians will do everything correctly and precisely.”

The Biden administration announced on Monday a new lethal aid package for Ukraine totaling about $1.7 billion and largely consisting of missiles and ammunition for missile, artillery and air defense systems that the US has previously provided to Ukraine.

Deaths in eastern and southern Ukraine

In southern Ukraine, a 68-year-old man in Kherson was killed in a drone strike on Wednesday morning, according to the region’s military head. A 73-year-old woman was also injured in that attack, and elsewhere in the region three people were injured in Russian shelling, the official said.

In the Donetsk region, one resident in the city of Toretsk was killed, and four others were injured in attacks elsewhere.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces said it will “continue to effectively hit important military targets of the Russian occupiers,” claiming that on Tuesday night Ukraine carried out a strike on a weapons and military equipment storage facility near the city of Kursk, Russia.

The governor of Russia’s Kursk region said a fire broke out at a facility there “after an attack by the Ukrainian armed forces.”

One of the few things working in Iran’s favor after the humiliating news that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital overnight is that the regime controls most of the information the world gets to see.

What Iran has said so far is that Haniyeh died after being hit by an “airborne guided projectile” in Tehran where he was attending the inauguration of the Iranian president. But we know little else. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike but has previously vowed to eliminate Hamas and its leaders following the October 7 attacks.

Haniyeh’s death came hours after Israel confirmed it carried out a strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday that killed the most senior military commander of Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed militant group, who it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The precise details of what happened at around 2 a.m. (5.30 p.m. ET) in Tehran, will dictate what comes next, as Iran looks to present a narrative that justifies and fashions its response.

Whatever the truth and whatever Iran proffers, the attack is clearly a grave violation of its sovereignty and the supposed security bubble of the Iranian capital. Haniyeh was the regime’s guest, and its role as a regional power is compromised if it’s unable to guarantee the simple safety of visiting allies.

There are reports he was staying in a guest house for veterans, and it is unclear whose technical responsibility it was to protect this facility – and whether the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) will be explicitly embarrassed, outside of the wider humiliation of an apparent Israeli assassination deep inside of Iran.

But Iran has stomached comparable violations in the past. The death of its leading nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was met with limited wrath in 2020. The killing of Quds commander Qasem Suleinami, the country’s most fabled military figure, months earlier, led to fiery rhetoric, but instead a limited hit on a remote US base. Iran has stepped back before – and may do so again.

There is no shortage of furious rherotic the day after the strikes, but there is no easy route for Iran. It is clear Tehran has been reluctant, for the months since October 7, to launch its most ferocious proxy, Hezbollah, into a full-scale war with Israel from Lebanon. Putting aside the huge humanitarian horror such a conflict would muster for Lebanese and Israelis alike, Hezbollah remains a powerful card that Tehran gets to play probably once. The regime retains apparent ambitions in its nuclear program and a military eroded by sanctions, so Hezbollah is an ace that must be tabled with astute timing.

Iran has also tried an unprecedented direct all-out attack on Israel before, in April, after senior IRGC commanders were killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus. In short, the 300 drone and missiles fired – straight from Iran at Israel – just didn’t get through. Around 99% of them were intercepted.

The regime’s response to Haniyeh’s death will define its role as a regional power, and, if it fails to appear potent enough, risks that slipping. A stealthy, asymmetric strike, weeks from now, may not fix the damage done to its prestige.

The risk of the unchartered territory we are in is that the gravity of expected responses is not defined – the tit for tat is occurring in an environment evolving by the day. Indeed, the characters making the decisions are changing rapidly, or under intense domestic pressure themselves. This simply accentuates the risk of miscalculation, or of actions taken to satisfy selfish, insular concerns, rather than a wider regional impact. In short, it is a mess that grows, and with it surges the chance of the unexpected.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s first statement on the matter said of Israel, “You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment.” But remember this is a superannuated, octogenarian leader who has just endured years of popular unrest and rising conflict with Israel, and 24 hours ago saw a surprisingly moderate president, Masoud Pezeshkian, get sworn in. He is projecting strength internally as much as he is internationally.

Separately, Hezbollah had stumbled it seemed into an acute crisis though the militant group’s apparently mistaken targeting of Druze schoolchildren in the Golan Heights at the weekend. It may feel the strike on Haniyeh has removed the spotlight to respond, for the shortest while, although it may be dragged into Iran’s eventual response. But the fact the assassination of its commander, Fuad Shukr, now seems like a distant memory, exposing how rapidly events are unfolding.

Tehran is taking its time to reveal how, yet again, its innermost sanctum was violated by Israel. The IRGC trailed a statement about Haniyeh at 2.50 a.m. US time, but it eventually avoided most details of how he was killed. Perhaps it doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to say, or is working out what to say in order to find a response that fits – and that it can execute.

Still, red lines have been criss-crossed for months, and this morning we lept a few rungs higher up the ladder of escalation. The agonizing question of the next 24 hours – as Iran fashions its narrative of how this major humiliation came to be – is what remaining steps are there on this well-trodden ladder, and what is at its peak?