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Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying

An attack on Iran's southern coast and islands will lead to Gulf routes being cut with the laying of sea mines, the country's Defence Council said on Monday, according to state media. The US is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island, the country's main oil export hub, to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping, according to Axios. "Any attempt to attack Iran's coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf (...) to be mined with various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast," the statement read. "In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation similar to the Strait of Hormuz for a long time (...) One should not forget the failure of more than 100 minesweepers in the 1980s in removing a few sea mines." The Defence Council recalled that non-belligerent states can only pass through the Strait of Hormuz by coordinating passage with Iran...
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Israeli forces encircle Rafah as offensive in Gaza intensifies

Israeli forces have completed the encirclement of Gaza's Rafah, the military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the enclave, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population. The military has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea. Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Axis, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since fled Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south. "Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division's troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Younis," the military said on Saturday. The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 50,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins. Israel restarted the offensive in March after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The campaign will continue, it says, until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza. Hamas says it will free hostages only as part of a deal that will end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms. A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo over the weekend to discuss new truce proposals, according to a source in the group.

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