Israel launches devastating raids on Lebanon’s south

Druze women mourn by a coffin during a funeral of a person killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon a day earlier in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. (AFP)
Druze women mourn by a coffin during a funeral of a person killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon a day earlier in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. (AFP)
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Updated 28 July 2024
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Israel launches devastating raids on Lebanon’s south

Druze women mourn by a coffin during a funeral of a person killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon a day earlier in Golan Heights
  • Lebanon calls for international probe into rocket strike that killed 12 people in Israeli-occupied Golan
  • UN special coordinator, UNIFIL chief urge restraint; Lebanon seeks immediate end to hostilities on all fronts

BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday called for an international investigation into a strike that killed 12 people, including children, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, warning against a large-scale retaliation.

Hezbollah rejected Israel’s accusation of bombing Majdal Shams on Saturday, saying in a statement that “the Islamic Resistance has nothing to do with the incident at all, and we categorically deny all the false claims in this regard.”

After Hezbollah’s statement, Walid Jumblatt, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party — the most powerful Druze leader in Lebanon — warned against “what the Israeli enemy is doing to ignite strife, fragment the region, and target its various communities.” 

His warning came as Israel on Sunday morning carried out intense raids on the villages of Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shamali near Tyre, southern Lebanon, causing widespread destruction.

It also raided the border villages of Tayr Harfa and Khiam, and targeted a residential building in Taraya, central Bekaa, with two missiles, destroying the building but causing no casualties.

The attack in Majdal Shams came hours after a raid by Israel on the southern border village of Kfarkila, in which four Hezbollah members were killed.

In a statement, the Lebanese government condemned “all acts of violence and attacks against all civilians,” adding that “targeting civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and contradicts the principles of humanity.”

It called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a statement on Sunday that “since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has been targeting military sites and not civilians, and I don’t think that it carried out this attack in Majdal Shams.”

He added: “It might be planned by other organizations ... an Israeli mistake or even an error on Hezbollah’s part, I don’t know. We need international investigation to uncover the truth.”

In a joint statement, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL head of mission and force commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro condemned “the death of civilians, including young children and teenagers, in Majdal Shams,” stressing that “civilians must be protected at all times.”

They urged “the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire, as they could ignite a wider conflagration that would engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief.”

The UN special coordinator held a phone call with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is considered the most important channel of communication with Hezbollah.

According to his press office, Berri affirmed that “Lebanon and its resistance are committed to UN Resolution 1701 and the rules of engagement by refraining from targeting civilians.”

Berri added that “the resistance’s denial of involvement in the Majdal Shams incident strongly reaffirms this commitment and underscores that neither Lebanon nor the resistance is responsible for what happened.”

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said his organization was in contact with the parties to diffuse the tension.

Jumblatt received a phone call from the US mediator to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who expressed concern over the escalating situation on the southern Lebanese front after the Majdal Shams incident.

Jumblatt tried to diffuse the situation, since most of the Majdal Shams’ residents are Druze.

He said that “targeting civilians is rejected and condemned, be it in occupied Palestine, the occupied Golan, or in southern Lebanon,” adding that “the history of the Israeli enemy is filled with massacres against civilians.”

Activists and supporters on TV channels and social media platforms denied Hezbollah’s involvement in the Majdal Shams attack, noting that “there are no settlers in Majdal Shams for the party to target, and it knows that.”

Hezbollah’s denial was to no avail, as the Israeli army insisted on holding the party responsible for launching the rocket.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “Ali Mohammed Yahya, the commander of the launch complex in the Shebaa area, ordered the firing of rockets toward the village of Majdal Shams.”

The Israeli raids on Lebanon on Sunday caused enormous destruction but did not result in any human casualties. The raids targeted two large hangars in Al-Abbassieh and Burj Al-Shemali.

The regular raids on the area since the start of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have caused panic among residents, damaging dozens of houses and apartments.

A Lebanese security source said: “Seven Israeli warplanes carried out the raids simultaneously.”

Adraee claimed that the raids hit Hezbollah targets in seven different areas across Lebanon, deep into Lebanon and its south, including weapons depots and infrastructure.

Hezbollah responded to the attacks by targeting “the positioning of Israeli soldiers in the Manara settlement,” according to a statement from the party.

Israeli officials on Sunday continued to vow to make Hezbollah pay.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “This is a very difficult and painful event for these children. It is a terrible tragedy. Hezbollah is responsible for this and it will pay.”

Gallant was speaking during a visit to Majdal Shams, where funeral processions were held for its victims.

Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi visited Majdal Shams on Saturday evening, according to Adraee.

Gen. Halevi inspected the football field that was hit, confirming the readiness for the next phase of combat in the north.

“We know exactly where the rocket was fired from,” he said. “We examined the remnants of the rocket on the walls of the football field here.

“We can say it was a Falaq rocket with a warhead weighing 53 kg. This is a Hezbollah rocket. Whoever fires such a rocket toward a populated area intends to kill civilians, intends to kill children.”

Reuters reported, citing two security sources, that Hezbollah “is on high alert and has evacuated some key sites in eastern and southern Lebanon.”

France and Norway called on their citizens “to avoid traveling to Lebanon and Israel” and asked those in the country to leave Lebanon.


Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in
Updated 23 sec ago
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Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in

Israel says it will re-open crossing into Gaza as pressure builds to get more aid in
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Friday it was planning to reopen the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza to increase the flow of aid into the southern end of the Gaza Strip.
The move comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have been conducting a major operation for more than a month.
The new crossing would be opened following engineering work over recent weeks by army engineers to build inspection points and paved roads, the army said.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The letter, which was posted to the Internet by a reporter from Axios, gave the Israeli government 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Among the demands included in the letter was for the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza.

Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days
Updated 6 min 44 sec ago
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Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days
  • The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya

PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese foreign ministry accused paramilitaries late Thursday of causing at least 120 civilian deaths over two days in Al-Jazira state, reportedly in attacks involving gunfire, food poisoning and lack of medical care.
“The Janjaweed militia (paramilitaries) committed a new massacre in the town of Hilaliya in Al-Jazira state over the past two days, resulting in 120 martyrs so far, killed either by gunfire or due to food poisoning and lack of medical care affecting hundreds of civilians,” the ministry of the army-backed government said in a statement obtained by AFP.


Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates
Updated 08 November 2024
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Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates

Yemen’s Houthi militants shoot down what they say was a US drone as American military investigates
  • The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky
  • The Houthis claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militants shot down what they described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a US spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident, declining to elaborate further.
It wasn’t immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down in the low-quality night video. The Houthis, in a later statement, claimed to have downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft. Iran denies arming the militants, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi militants despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The Houthis have been a key component of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” during the Mideast wars that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups.
Since Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the militants have shot down MQ-9 Reaper drones in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military has declined to offer a total figure for the number of drones it has lost during that time.
Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The militants maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. The tempo of the Houthi sea attacks also has waxed and waned over the months.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the Houthis.


Israeli defense minister officially steps down

Israeli defense minister officially steps down
Updated 08 November 2024
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Israeli defense minister officially steps down

Israeli defense minister officially steps down
  • Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
  • Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister

TEL AVIV: Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.
Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.
Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a US deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.
The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel’s monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.
On Thursday, the Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.
The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and some 13,800 wounded in Lebanon, the health ministry reported.

Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says

Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says
Updated 08 November 2024
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Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says

Turkiye, Greece must work together to resolve host of issues, Turkish minister says
  • Issues between NATO allies Turkiye and Greece are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean

ANKARA: Issues between NATO allies Turkiye and Greece are not limited to disagreements over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, adding the historic rivals must work together to resolve them.
Speaking at a press conference in Athens alongside his Greek counterpart, Fidan also repeated Ankara’s view that a federation model to resolve the dispute over the ethnically-split island of Cyprus was no longer viable, calling for a two-state solution.
He also said Turkiye wanted to deepen cooperation with Greece on irregular migration and counter-terrorism, while increasing cooperation on tourism and cultural affairs.