Israel says carrying out ‘extensive’ strikes in Hezbollah strongholds

Israel says carrying out ‘extensive’ strikes in Hezbollah strongholds
Hezbollah and its arch-foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war erupted last October. (FILE/AFP)
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Updated 25 September 2024
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Israel says carrying out ‘extensive’ strikes in Hezbollah strongholds

Israel says carrying out ‘extensive’ strikes in Hezbollah strongholds
  • Hezbollah says it fired rocket at spy base, Israeli warplanes hit Lebanon again
  • Three killed in Israeli strike on Lebanese town in Christian-majority region, ministry says

BEIRUT: The Israeli military said it was carrying out “extensive” air strikes in south Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley on Wednesday after Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile that reached the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

“The IDF (Israeli military) is currently conducting extensive strikes in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area,” the military said in a statement.

It said it was striking Hezbollah targets and weapons storage facilities.

It also said that some 40 projectiles had crossed into northern Israel from Lebanon, setting off warning sirens in the area. “Several projectiles were intercepted,” the military said.

The Israeli military said a drone crossing into Israeli territory from Syria was intercepted by fighter jets south of the Sea of Galilee, casuing no damage or injuries.

Earlier, Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday it fired a rocket targeting Mossad spy agency headquarters near Tel Aviv, which it blamed for the assassination of its leaders and the blowing up communications devices used by its members.

There were no reports of damage or casualties and the military said there was no change to civil defense instructions for central Israel. 

Three people were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese Shi'ite town of Maaysrah in the Christian-majority Keserwan region, the country's health ministry said. It was the first time the area was struck in recent hostilities between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

The Israeli military has been conducting its heaviest air strikes of the war this week, targeting Hezbollah leaders and hitting hundreds of targets deep inside Lebanon.

An Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Qubaisi, who headed the group’s missile and rocket force.

He is one of several key figures who have been assassinated since fighting broke out between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah nearly a year ago in parallel with the Gaza war.

In response, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that killing valuable members of Lebanon's Hezbollah will not bring it to its knees. 

“The organisational strength and human resources of Hezbollah is very strong and will not be critically hit by the killing of a senior commander, even if that is clearly a loss,” Khamenei said.

 

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READ: Pope says escalation in Lebanon ‘unacceptable’ 

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’Lebanon is at the brink’
Israel’s offensive since Monday morning has killed 569 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835 in Lebanon, Health Minister Firass Abiad told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV.
A new offensive against Hezbollah has stoked fears that conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza is widening and could destabilize the Middle East.

The UN Security Council said it would meet on Wednesday to discuss the conflict. “Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world — cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Half a million people are estimated to have been displaced in Lebanon, said Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. He said Lebanon’s prime minister hoped to meet with US officials over the next two days.
In Beirut, thousands of displaced people who fled from southern Lebanon were sheltering in schools and other buildings.
Israel’s military said its airforce conducted “extensive strikes” on Tuesday on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and dozens of launchers that were aimed at Israeli territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the attacks had weakened Hezbollah and would continue. Hezbollah “has suffered a sequence of blows to its command and control, its fighters, and the means to fight. These are all severe blows,” he told Israeli troops.


Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post

Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post
Updated 25 September 2024
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Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post

Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post

TEHRAN: The Iranian parliament on Wednesday blocked the appointment of a politician from the Sunni minority as vice president, state media reported.
In August, President Masoud Pezeshkian had announced the appointment of Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh as his vice president for rural development and disadvantaged areas, citing his “valuable experience.”
But on Wednesday lawmakers voted against his resignation from parliament to take up the vice president post, the official IRNA news agency said.
“Parliament members voted 107 in favor, 129 against, and five abstentions out of the 247 representatives present,” it added.
Sunni Muslims account for around 10 percent of Iran’s population, where the vast majority are Shiites and that branch of Islam is the official state religion.
They have very rarely held key positions of power since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Iran has numerous vice presidents, who are tasked with leading organizations related to presidential affairs in the country.
A 44-year-old reformist, Hosseinzadeh has since 2012 represented the northwestern cities of Naghadeh and Oshnavieh in the Iranian parliament.
He has spoken out publicly on several occasions in defense of the rights of Iran’s Sunnis.
During his election campaign Pezeshkian, himself a reformist, criticized the lack of representation for ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Sunni Kurds, in important positions.


Bahrain supports UN reform that ‘reflects current geopolitical realities’: Crown prince

Bahrain supports UN reform that ‘reflects current geopolitical realities’: Crown prince
Updated 25 September 2024
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Bahrain supports UN reform that ‘reflects current geopolitical realities’: Crown prince

Bahrain supports UN reform that ‘reflects current geopolitical realities’: Crown prince
  • ‘The very systems designed to uphold the international order are under strain,’ he tells General Assembly
  • ‘Today’s world is, in many ways, more fragile than the one that had emerged from World War II’

NEW YORK CITY: Bahrain supports calls for UN reform to “ensure that it reflects current geopolitical realities,” Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa said on Tuesday.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, he said reform should be “holistic” and “consensus-driven,” and encompass all bodies including the Security Council.

“The very systems designed to uphold the international order are under strain,” he added. “As the threats and challenges we collectively face evolve, this important institution, which our global community relies on to safeguard the international rules-based order, must evolve as well.”

The crown prince called for the UNGA to “recommit to peace” at a time when governments are pursuing policies “exclusively rooted in self-interest” and using “questionably legal force to resolve disputes” amid a rise in “radicalism, extremism, and rogue non-state actors sowing chaos and discord.”

Palestinians in Gaza are “living through an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with over 40,000 killed, many of them women and children,” he said.

“It’s clear that what’s required is the implementation of an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the adoption of an irrevocable path to the creation of a viable, independent Palestinian state.”

The Gaza and Ukraine conflicts, as well as rising tensions in the South China Sea, “undermine growth, stifle opportunity, and endanger the hopes we hold for our children,” he added. “Today’s world is, in many ways, more fragile than the one that had emerged from World War II.”

Current global challenges go beyond geopolitical ones, including the impact of unsustainable development on the environment and the effects of diseases such as COVID-19 in disrupting the global order, he said.

The crown prince advised against treating these crises individually, as they are “interconnected” and “represent a systemic threat to humanity.”

He suggested that in order to overcome these challenges, “like-minded countries come together,” which can only be achieved through system-wide reform that includes multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization.

He stressed Bahrain’s commitment to pluralism and multilateralism, pointing to the country’s 2023 Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement with the US, which promotes cooperation in various areas such as science, technology, defense and security.

The crown prince said the agreement is not designed as a bilateral one but as “the beginning of a multilateral framework that aims to bring together countries with an equal interest in delivering stability and prosperity.”

He concluded: “The international rules-based order isn’t sustained by hopes or dreams — it’s the product of robust international institutions and security constructs that are fit for purpose.”


Moroccan PM calls for ‘pragmatic, realistic multilateralism’ to serve Africa’s needs

Moroccan PM calls for ‘pragmatic, realistic multilateralism’ to serve Africa’s needs
Updated 25 September 2024
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Moroccan PM calls for ‘pragmatic, realistic multilateralism’ to serve Africa’s needs

Moroccan PM calls for ‘pragmatic, realistic multilateralism’ to serve Africa’s needs
  • Aziz Akhannouch: African countries ‘very minor contributors’ to climate change but ‘most affected’
  • Accuses Israel of ‘blatant violation of international law and of all human values’

NEW YORK CITY: Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch asserted the need for multilateralism in today’s evolving landscape at the 79th UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

The “diplomatic doctrine of the Kingdom of Morocco is multilateral at its core,” but “we can’t content ourselves with merely declaring good intentions,” he said.

“We need new momentum. We need new reform to which all segments, all strata of society, including women and young people, can contribute.”

Akhannouch stressed the effects of climate challenge, particularly on African countries, which are “very minor contributors to pollution which causes climate change” and yet are “most affected by the results and the consequences of climate change.”

As a solution to this problem, which is exacerbated by debt crises, he called for the creation of innovative financing mechanisms and reform of the international financial system that would help developing countries achieve financing to aid economic recovery.

This is why, he said, “Morocco calls for pragmatic, realistic multilateralism to serve the needs of the African continent.”

The country is applying this approach to various areas such as climate change, terrorism and social justice, Akhannouch added.

He highlighted Morocco’s efforts in the region, such as the initiative launched last year to enable countries in the Sahel region to have access to the Atlantic Ocean, and its autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

Akhannouch expressed Morocco’s “extreme concern” at the Israel-Palestinian conflict, calling the aggression against Palestinians a “blatant violation of international law and of all human values. The stability of the region is linked with the two-state solution.”

He stated Morocco’s solidarity with Lebanon and said it respects the country’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Amid the many global challenges facing the world, Akhannouch urged the UNGA to rethink the way it works and appeal to “our collective conscience,” adding: “We need to rethink our fundamental values, but we need to return to our fundamental values.”

He said the UN has a “collective responsibility,” which should encourage its members to “return to our values of humanity — the humanity that underpinned the very inception of this organization. Thus, reform is needed as we approach the 80th anniversary of the creation of our organization.”


Norway starts probe into reported links to exploding pagers in Lebanon

Norway starts probe into reported links to exploding pagers in Lebanon
Updated 25 September 2024
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Norway starts probe into reported links to exploding pagers in Lebanon

Norway starts probe into reported links to exploding pagers in Lebanon
  • Norway security agency launches preliminary investigation
  • Bulgaria is investigating a company founded by a Norwegian
  • Rinson Jose founded Norta Global Ltd. in 2022, registry shows

OSLO: Norway’s security police (PST) have begun a preliminary investigation into reports that a Norwegian-owned company was linked to the sale of pagers to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded last week, a police lawyer told Reuters.
Over a two-day period last week, thousands of pagers, as well as walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives, blew up in Lebanon, killing at least 39 people and wounding thousands. The attacks were widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
It is not clear how and when the pagers were weaponized so they could be remotely detonated. Taiwan, Hungary and Bulgaria are already investigating possible links in the supply chain.
“PST has initiated a preliminary investigation to determine whether there are reasons for starting a (full) investigation on the basis of allegations in the media that a Norwegian-owned company may have been involved in the dissemination of pagers to Hezbollah,” PST lawyer Haris Hrenovica said in a text message to Reuters.
Earlier he told Norwegian news agency NTB that the police had no specific suspicions at this time.
Bulgarian authorities said last week they were investigating Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd. after a Hungarian media report that it was involved in facilitating the sale of the pagers.
The company was founded in 2022 by Norwegian citizen, Rinson Jose, 39, according to Bulgaria’s corporate registry. He signed the company’s articles of association at the Bulgarian consulate in Oslo, the documents reviewed by Reuters showed.
Jose declined to comment on the pagers when reached by phone last Wednesday and hung up when asked about the Bulgarian business. He did not return repeated calls and text messages.
When Reuters tried to call him on Tuesday this week, the call was directed to an answering service.
Jose’s Linkedin profile shows he has been employed by DN Media Group since February 2020. DN Media Group said he worked in the sales department and that he left for a conference in Boston on Sept. 17.
He last contacted his colleagues by email on Sept. 18, according to Norwegian media. His employer told Reuters it had not been able to reach him since.
Reuters has found no evidence linking Norta Global to the DN Media Group.


Israel ‘pushing region toward all-out war’: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan

Israel ‘pushing region toward all-out war’: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan
Updated 25 September 2024
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Israel ‘pushing region toward all-out war’: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan

Israel ‘pushing region toward all-out war’: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan

BAGHDAD: The foreign ministers of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan condemned Israel’s “aggression” against Lebanon Wednesday, warning that it is “pushing the region toward all-out war.”
The ministers said that stopping the “dangerous escalation under way in the region... begins by halting Israel’s aggression in Gaza,” in a joint statement issued after a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.