‘An eye for an eye’: Hezbollah targets two Israeli military bases in Safed

Smoke rises near the Israel-Lebanon border, after Hezbollah fired projectiles towards Israel from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, September 12, 2024. 9REUTERS)
Smoke rises near the Israel-Lebanon border, after Hezbollah fired projectiles towards Israel from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in northern Israel, September 12, 2024. 9REUTERS)
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Updated 13 September 2024
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‘An eye for an eye’: Hezbollah targets two Israeli military bases in Safed

‘An eye for an eye’: Hezbollah targets two Israeli military bases in Safed
  • Lebanon Humanitarian Fund allocates $10 million to aid displaced people in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT: Hezbollah launched a swarm of assault drones on Filon Base — the headquarters of Israel’s 210th Division — and its warehouses in the southeast of Safed on Friday, the second attack on Safed in less than 12 hours.

Hezbollah said it had “targeted the positions and locations of the base’s soldiers and officers, striking them directly.”

Israeli media outlets confirmed the attack, stating that “20 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Safad.”

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UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza announced the allocation of $24 million as an aid package from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund ‘to support the country’s most vulnerable groups.’

This came hours after Israeli raids on Friday morning that targeted several houses in Bint Jbeil, the largest city in the area of the Israel-Lebanon border. The impact of the explosions destroyed some residential buildings and caused damage to other structures.

The Israeli army also raided the outskirts of Yaroun and Aita Al-Shaab, with heavy artillery targeting the forests of Alma Al-Shaab and the outskirts of Kfarshouba.

Israeli forces also targeted two motorcycles in Nabatieh on Thursday night, killing three people, including a four-year-old child identified as Mehdi Mubarak, along with his father, Sadeq Mubarak from Markaba, and Sajed Mustafa, Hezbollah announced.

Hezbollah immediately responded by targeting a major air-defense base in Safad with dozens of Katyusha missiles, setting parts of it ablaze and leading to a complete power outage in Safad and nearby areas. Around 50,000 settlers fled to shelters after hearing the sound of sirens, according to Israeli media outlets.

European and US calls to prevent the expansion of war in Lebanon have yet to have any effect.

In his Friday sermon, the head of Hezbollah’s Shariah Council, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, said “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and the initiator is the aggressor.”

He added: “Hezbollah stands up to the Israeli enemy’s attacks, the monstrous and destructive bombing of houses, and killing of civilians, by launching rocket and drone operations against more settlements.”

Yazbek highlighted “the Israeli escalation,” and said that Hezbollah “is fully prepared to teach the enemy a lesson it hasn’t dreamed of, and won’t stop before the attack against Gaza stops.”

Israeli media outlets reported on Thursday night that the US presidential envoy to Lebanon and Israel, Amos Hochstein, will head to Israel with a message calling for it to avoid “carrying out an expanded military operation in Lebanon.”

The Lebanese authorities have yet to receive confirmation of whether Hochstein intends to visit Beirut.

According to Information International, the death toll from confrontations on the southern front between Oct. 8, 2023, and the morning of Sept. 13, 2024, was 626. Among them are 431 Hezbollah members and 97 civilians. A total of 2,050 homes have been completely destroyed, 1,800 homes have been partially destroyed, and around 8,000 homes have suffered minor damage, while more than 110,000 people have been displaced, with many losing their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza issued a statement announcing the allocation of $24 million as an aid package from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund “to support the country’s most vulnerable groups, and address the needs of those affected by the escalating hostilities in southern Lebanon.”

Riza said: “As the escalation of hostilities in south Lebanon drags on longer than we had hoped, it has led to further displacement and deepened the already critical needs. The long-term consequences on vulnerable groups are particularly worrying — schools are closing, healthcare services are under strain, and basic services are being stretched thin.”

He continued: “We are allocating these funds from the LHF at a time of unprecedented challenges. Lebanon is grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope. Despite our best efforts, only 25 percent of our annual appeal has been met. We urgently call on the international community for more support.

“The LHF has allowed us to support over 200,000 people, but this is still far from enough. Without sufficient funding, we are not only limited in addressing those immediate needs but also risk weakening our preparedness efforts and our capacity to address the other urgent crises Lebanon is currently facing.”

The LHF clarified that the new funding will “provide urgent support to those in need, including food, shelter, healthcare, WaSH and protection. Specifically, $10 million from the LHF will be directed toward emergency relief for those affected by the hostilities in south Lebanon. “Additionally, $13 million will be allocated to support vulnerable communities across Lebanon, and the remaining $1 million will be dedicated to empowering local NGOs, enhancing their ability to respond effectively to the multifaceted crisis.”

In November 2023, in response to the escalation of hostilities on Lebanon’s southern border, the LHF allocated $4.1 million to support advanced preparedness and immediate response efforts for those displaced and in need. This response was further bolstered in February, when the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund allocated an additional $9 million to address the urgent needs of vulnerable populations, particularly in southern Lebanon.

 


Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF

Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF
Updated 58 min 12 sec ago
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Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF

Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF
  • IMF lowers its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024
  • IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended

DUBAI: Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan will take decades to recover from the conflicts raging on their soil, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday after downgrading the region’s growth forecast.
Israel’s military actions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Sudan’s civil war would have enduring impacts, the IMF said.
“The damage caused by these conflicts will leave lasting scars at their epicenters for decades,” the global lender said in a statement.
The IMF has lowered its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024, a drop of 0.6 percent due to the wars and lower oil production.
Depending on the conflicts, growth should rise to 4.0 percent next year, according to the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook which was compiled in September.
“This year has been challenging with conflicts causing devastating human suffering and lasting economic damage,” Jihad Azour, the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department director, told reporters in Dubai.
“The recent escalation in Lebanon has greatly increased the uncertainty in the whole MENA region.”
IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended. But “conservative” estimates show a 9.0-10 percent contraction this year, Azour said.
“The impact (on Lebanon) will be severe and it will depend how long this conflict will last,” said the former Lebanese finance minister.
Saudi-led oil cuts through the OPEC+ group, aimed at propping up prices, “are contributing to sluggish near-term growth in many economies,” the IMF said.
For the region’s oil exporters, “medium-term growth is projected to moderate, as economic diversification reforms will take time to yield results,” it added.
Downside risks continue to dominate, the lender said, including fluctuating commodity prices, conflicts and climate shocks.


Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border
Updated 31 October 2024
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Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

DAMASCUS: Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit the town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border on Thursday, the latest in a series of raids in the area.
“An Israeli aggression targeted the Qusayr area in the southern Homs countryside,” causing “material damage to the industrial city and some residential neighborhoods,” the official SANA news agency said.


Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid

Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid
Updated 31 October 2024
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Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid

Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid
  • Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said

GENEVA: Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday that one of its doctors working in a north Gaza hospital has been detained by Israeli forces.
Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said.
“We are extremely alarmed by the detention of our colleague,” it said.
“We call for the safety and the protection of our colleague, and for all medical staff in Gaza who work under impossible conditions and are facing horrific violence as they try to provide care.”


Israeli military says it downed drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel

Israeli military says it downed drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel
Updated 31 October 2024
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Israeli military says it downed drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel

Israeli military says it downed drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel
  • Egypt says it destroyed tunnel networks leading to Gaza years ago and created a buffer zone and border fortifications that prevent smuggling

DUBAI: Israel’s military said on Thursday it shot down a drone smuggling weapons from Egyptian territory to Israel on Wednesday.
Israeli officials have said during the war in Gaza that Palestinian armed group Hamas used tunnels running under the border into Egypt’s Sinai region to smuggle arms.
Egypt says it destroyed tunnel networks leading to Gaza years ago and created a buffer zone and border fortifications that prevent smuggling.
Earlier in October, the Israeli military also said it foiled a weapon smuggling attempt from Egypt after downing a drone carrying guns and bullets.


Israeli couple arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran: police

Israeli couple arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran: police
Updated 31 October 2024
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Israeli couple arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran: police

Israeli couple arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran: police
  • Israeli police charge Goliev couple carried out surveillance of sensitive Israeli sites

JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Thursday they had arrested an Israeli couple on suspicion of spying for Iran, barely a week after two groups allegedly working for Tehran were detained.
“The thwarting of Iran’s efforts to recruit Israelis continues,” said a statement from the police and Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet.
The two Israelis, a couple from the central city of Lod, had been involved in gathering intelligence on “national infrastructures, security sites and tracking a female academic,” the statement alleged.
“Rafael and Lala Goliev... residents of Lod, were arrested after they carried out tasks on behalf of an Iranian cell that recruits Israelis from the Caucasus countries in Israel.”
Police charged that the couple were recruited by Elshan (Elhan) Agayev, an Azerbaijani national acting on behalf of Iranian officials. It was unclear if Agayev is based in Israel.
They alleged that the Golievs carried out surveillance of sensitive Israeli sites, including the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, and collected intelligence on an academic working at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Thursday’s announcement comes little more than a week after Israeli security services said they had uncovered two other suspected spy rings.
On October 22, Israeli police said they had arrested a group of seven Palestinians from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem they suspected of planning attacks for Iran.
A day earlier, police said they had arrested seven Israeli citizens from the city of Haifa on suspicion of carrying out hundreds of spy missions on Iran’s orders.
The previous week, two other Israelis were charged with various offenses after they were allegedly approached by Iranian agents and asked to carry out spy missions.
In September, an Israeli identified as Mordechai Maman from the coastal city of Ashkelon, was arrested on suspicion of being recruited by Iran to plot the assassination of top officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel is currently engaged in a multi-front conflict with Iran-backed groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.