Israel kills brother of key Hezbollah member

Special Israel kills brother of key Hezbollah member
Smoke billows during an Israeli bombardment of a southern Lebanon. (AFP)
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Updated 05 September 2024
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Israel kills brother of key Hezbollah member

Israel kills brother of key Hezbollah member
  • Statistics reveal 6,611 rockets launched from Lebanon in eight months, including 40 a day during August

BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Thursday morning launched an intensive aerial attack on Kafra, southern Lebanon, in which the brother of an important Hezbollah member was killed.

In a statement, Hezbollah’s military media wing announced the death of Abbas Anis Ayoub, who was born in 1988 and is from Selaa, southern Lebanon.

The Ministry of Health’s Emergency Operations Center confirmed Ayoub’s death, adding that the attack injured another person.

Security reports said that the Israeli army carried out at least three raids to target Ayoub.

Footage on social media showed a house on fire as a result of the attack, which was followed by further Israeli raids, increasing the intensity of the fire.

It seems Abbas Ayoub is the brother of Hussein Ayoub, who is considered the founder of Hezbollah’s air force.

Abbas worked as an engineer before joining the militant group.

Hussein Ayoub was 24 when he was killed by an explosive device during a Hezbollah operation against an Israeli patrol in southern Lebanon, which was under Israeli occupation at the time.

Israeli warplanes and artillery continued operations in southern border villages, including Aita Al-Shaab, Kfarkila and Mays Al-Jabal.

A woman was killed and two civilians were injured on Wednesday night by Israeli shelling of residential neighborhoods in Qabrikha and in the vicinity of Tallouseh, Bani Haiyyan, Qantara and Wadi Saluki.

Three people were injured in an Israeli raid on Houla and the Health Ministry said a 12-year-old child was among the injured in Qabrikha.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that its aircraft attacked sites in Jebbayn, Zawtar Al-Charkieh, and Ramyeh.

He added that "more than 10 Hezbollah military infrastructures and launch pads were attacked, as they were posing a threat to Israeli civilians.”

Israeli media reported “an explosion of a drone in the Yara area in Western Galilee,” and “damage inside the settlement of Ramot Naftali in Upper Galilee after rockets fell inside the settlement.”

A new statistic circulated by Israeli media revealed that, between January and the end of August, “the total number of rockets fired (toward Isarel) was 6,611, with the lowest number of rockets in January when 334 rockets were fired.”

Israeli Army Radio said that 1,307 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel during August, “averaging 40 rockets a day,” the highest rate of rockets fired since the start of the war.  

Statistics on rocket fire from Lebanon toward Israel since the beginning of the year show 1,091 rockets were fired in July, 855 in June, 1,000 in May, 744 in April, 746 in March, and 534 in February.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, head of the Higher Relief Committee, ruled out conducting a damage survey in southern Lebanon at present or calling on people to return “because Israel is treacherous, and the psychological war has become one of its constant characteristics.”

Khair added: “We cannot expose the lives of HRC employees and Lebanese Army personnel to the risk of Israeli shelling while they are conducting inspection, survey and assessment work. Until we are sure that everything is over and the situation is under control, we will not tell the people of the south to return to their homes and institutions. Otherwise, we would jeopardize their lives and put them at risk.”

He emphasized “the necessity of securing the financial coverage for their return ‘internationally’ as a first step and making a clear, correct decision regarding their return. Then, we will call on the displaced citizens to return to their villages.”

Khair denied the existence of any funds allocated by HRC or the government to compensate southerners affected by the Israeli aggression.

But he said funds had been allocated to help displaced people from the south to the villages of Sidon and the north, to support them.

Regarding the possibility of securing compensation for those affected, Khair said: “Nothing is clear yet. It is not known from where the required funds will be secured.”


Israel violated global child rights treaty in Gaza, UN committee says

Israel violated global child rights treaty in Gaza, UN committee says
Updated 11 sec ago
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Israel violated global child rights treaty in Gaza, UN committee says

Israel violated global child rights treaty in Gaza, UN committee says

GENEVA: A UN committee has accused Israel of severe breaches of a global treaty protecting children’s rights, saying its military actions in Gaza had a catastrophic impact on them and are among the worst violations in recent history.

Palestinian health authorities say 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military campaign in response to cross-border attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7. Of those killed in Gaza, at least 11,355 are children, Palestinian data shows, and thousands more are injured.

“The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history,” said Bragi Gudbrandsson, vice chair of the Committee.

“I don’t think we have seen a violation that is so massive before as we’ve seen in Gaza. These are extremely grave violations that we do not often see,” he said.

Israel, which ratified the treaty in 1991, sent a large delegation to the UN hearings in Geneva between September 3-4.

They argued that the treaty did not apply in Gaza or the West Bank and that it was committed to respecting international humanitarian law. It says its military campaign in Gaza is aimed at eliminating Hamas.

The committee praised Israel for attending but said it “deeply regrets the state party’s repeated denial of its legal obligations.”

The 18-member UN Committee monitors countries’ compliance with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child — a widely adopted treaty that protects them from violence and other abuses.

In its conclusions, it called on Israel to provide urgent assistance to thousands of children maimed or injured by the war, provide support for orphans, and allow more medical evacuations from Gaza.

The UN body has no means of enforcing its recommendations, although countries generally aim to comply.

During the hearings, the UN experts also asked many questions about Israeli children, including details about those taken hostage by Hamas, to which Israel’s delegation gave extensive responses.


Spanish prime minister, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation

Spanish prime minister, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
Updated 7 min 8 sec ago
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Spanish prime minister, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation

Spanish prime minister, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

“Today the risk of escalation is once more increasing in a dangerous way” in Lebanon, said Sanchez, at a news conference withvisitingPalestinianPresident Mahmoud Abbas.

“So we must again make a fresh appeal for restraint,for a de-escalation and for peaceful coexistence between countries, in the name of peace,” he added.

Sanchez was speaking to journalists after more than an hour’s talks with Abbas.

Since the Gaza war began, Sanchez has positioned himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause within the EU.

His socialist government has increasingly taken highly critical positions toward Israel’s conduct of itscampaignagainstHamas,rivalto the Fatah party.

“The international community and Europe cannot remain impassive in the face of the suffering of thousands of innocents, largely women and children,” he added.

Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data provided by the Health Ministry. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.

Urging a two-state solution, long a cornerstone of international attempts to end the decades-long conflict, Sanchez said that a Palestinian nation “living side by side with the state of Israel” was the only way to “bring stability to the region.”

He pointed out that this is Abbas’s first visit to Spain since Madrid decided to recognize the state of Palestine on May 28. Ireland and Norway took the same decision in May. “Why is this a good thing? Because Palestine exists and has the right to have its state,” the premier added.

While Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, the Fatah party chaired by Abbas controls the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.


Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya

Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya
Updated 49 min 43 sec ago
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Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya

Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya
  • The governor, Kamal Abu Al-Rub, said four of the injured are in critical condition

RAMALLAH: Six Palestinians were killed and 18 others injured by Israeli forces during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Qabatiya, the governor of Jenin told Reuters on Thursday.
The governor, Kamal Abu Al-Rub, said four of the injured are in critical condition, and that Israeli forces withdrew from Qabatiya after destroying infrastructure in the area.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, with almost daily sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular gunbattles between security forces and Palestinian fighters.


Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
Updated 19 September 2024
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Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
  • The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and hand-held radios, were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices

UNITED NATIONS: A preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities into the communications devices that blew up in Lebanon this week found that they were implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, according to a letter sent to the UN Security Council by Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations.
The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and hand-held radios, were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices, says the letter, seen by Reuters on Thursday. Israel was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks, Lebanon’s UN mission said.
The 15-member Security Council is due to meet on Friday over the blasts.
The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil.


US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon
Updated 19 September 2024
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US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon
  • “I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said
  • “We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict“

WASHINGTON: There are no changes to US military posture in the Middle East, the Pentagon told reporters on Thursday when asked about recent deadly Israeli attacks in Lebanon that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers.
Lebanon and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment that killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
“I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing.
The Pentagon said that any attack that escalates tensions in the Middle East will not be helpful.
“In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell,” Singh said when asked about Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin’s call on Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart. “We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict.”
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency.
The Pentagon was pressed on the potential for a Gaza ceasefire deal amid escalating regional tensions and said Washington did not believe a deal was falling apart. The spokesperson added that the US felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza.
President Joe Biden laid out a three phase Gaza ceasefire proposal on May 31. The deal has run into obstacles since.
Critics have urged Washington to use its leverage by conditioning military support to Israel but the US has maintained its support for its ally.
The attacks in Lebanon have raised concerns about the widening of Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies. Israel’s assault on Gaza followed a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.