Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

An aerial view of Vuhledar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 10, 2023. (AP/File)

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Updated 1 min 17 sec ago

October 03, 2024 02:57

Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

Ukraine said it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect military personnel and equipment”
Vuhledar is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year

Updated 1 min 17 sec ago

October 03, 2024 02:57

KYIV: Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of grinding battle, military officials said Wednesday.
Vuhledar, a town Ukrainian forces fought tooth and nail to keep, is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year and the Ukrainian army is gradually being pushed backward in the eastern Donetsk province.
It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kyiv cede several thousand square kilometers of territory as the Russian army hacks its way westward, obliterating towns and villages with missiles, glide bombs, artillery and drones.
Ukraine’s Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a statement posted on Telegram it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect military personnel and equipment.”
“In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, (Russian) reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defense of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the enemy’s actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city,” the statement said.
The tactical significance of the town, situated at the confluence of two major roads, is two-fold. Dominant heights and proximity to railway lines offer Moscow greater protection for their own logistics routes, and a better vantage point for attacks against Ukrainian forces and supply lines feeding the south.
Its capture is another notch in Moscow’s belt, bringing it closer to the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

WHO chief says Lebanon health system ‘struggling to cope’

Updated 2 min 23 sec ago

AFP

October 03, 2024 02:47

WHO chief says Lebanon health system ‘struggling to cope’

“The death toll in Lebanon is rising, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of injured patients,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X

Updated 2 min 23 sec ago

AFP

October 03, 2024 02:47

GENEVA: The World Health Organization chief warned Tuesday that Lebanon’s health system was struggling to keep up, after Israel escalated airstrikes and launched ground raids into the country.
“The death toll in Lebanon is rising, and hospitals are overwhelmed with the influx of injured patients,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X.
“The health system has been weakened by successive crises and is struggling to cope with the immense needs,” he said, adding that WHO was scaling up its response.
Israel shifted its focus last month from the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7 attacks by Iran-backed Hamas, to securing its northern border with Lebanon.
More than 1,000 people have died since last week, in fighting that has included Israeli strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs.
Tedros said that he had met with Arab League ambassadors in Geneva to discuss the situation.
“We agreed that patients, health workers and civilians, including refugees, must be protected and offered the health care they need,” he said.
He stressed that WHO had been working closely with the Lebanese health ministry “to ensure hospitals have enough medical supplies and health workers are trained for mass casualty events, as well as to maintain essential health services for the most vulnerable.”
“But more help is needed.” he said.
Tedros insisted though that “what the people of Lebanon, Gaza, Israel and throughout the Middle East need is peace.”
“The violence must end to prevent more loss and suffering. Any further escalation of the conflict will have catastrophic consequences for the region,” he warned.
“The best medicine is peace.”

Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns from T-wolves for Randle in major NBA deal

Updated 7 min 18 sec ago

AFP

October 03, 2024 04:09

Knicks get Karl-Anthony Towns from T-wolves for Randle in major NBA deal

The three-team deal saw the Knicks also obtain the draft rights to James Nnaji from the Charlotte Hornets
Knicks also sent Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick to Minnesota and Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks to Charlotte

Updated 7 min 18 sec ago

AFP

October 03, 2024 04:09

NEW YORK: Karl-Anthony Towns was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to New York in a three-team NBA trade on Wednesday that sent Julius Randle from the Knicks to the T-wolves in return.

The three-team deal saw the Knicks also obtain the draft rights to James Nnaji from the Charlotte Hornets while also sending Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick to Minnesota and Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks to Charlotte.

Towns, a 7-foot (2.13m) center, is a four-time NBA All-Star who sparked the T-Wolves into the Western Conference finals last season for the first time in 20 years.

“We’re beyond excited to welcome Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks,” team president Leon Rose said. “Karl-Anthony brings a skillset that is unique to the game of basketball. He possesses a blend of playmaking, shooting, rebounding and defending that in combination with his size allows him to compete at a level that is rare in this league.

“Karl-Anthony has demonstrated throughout his career to be a high caliber player and person on and off the court who will complement the type of team and culture we continue to build in New York.”

Towns, 28, has averaged 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 blocked shots a game over nine NBA seasons, all with the Timberwolves.

“To the Timberwolves Family: Nine years ago, I arrived in Minnesota as a young man with a dream. Little did I know that this place would become my home, and its people would become my family,” Towns posted on social media.

“Your love, support, and unwavering loyalty have fueled my journey and inspired me to be the best player I could be. Thank you to my teammates, coaches, and the entire Timberwolves organization for the countless opportunities and experiences. I’ll cherish the friendships I’ve made and the battles we’ve fought together.

“To the incredible fans, your support has meant the world to me. It gave me strength on and off the court. I’ll never forget it. You’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for everything.”

Randle, a three-time NBA All-Star forward, helped the Knicks reach the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. He has averaged 19.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 10 NBA seasons, the past five with the Knicks.

“Julius worked tirelessly day in and day out to represent the Knicks organization with grit, grace and tremendous skill,” Rose said. “Julius played a major role in establishing the foundation and culture of our team and we cannot thank Julius enough for what he did.”

Nnaji, a 20-year-old Nigerian guard, spent the past three seasons with Barcelona of the Spanish league, averaging 2.9 points and 2.0 rebounds over 110 games.

DiVincenzo, a 27-year-old guard, has spent six seasons in the NBA with Milwaukee, Sacramento, Golden State and New York, averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals. He was part of Golden State’s 2021 NBA championship team.

Topics: basketball NBA Karl-Anthony Towns New York knicks

Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

Updated 12 min 23 sec ago

October 03, 2024 02:57

Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

Ukraine said it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect military personnel and equipment”
Vuhledar is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year

Updated 12 min 23 sec ago

October 03, 2024 02:57

Israel strikes heart of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah rescuers

Updated 13 min 40 sec ago

Reuters

AFP

October 03, 2024 03:18

Israel strikes heart of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah rescuers

Israeli forces suffer deadliest day on Lebanese front in a year
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli air raids killed at least 46 people over the past 24 hours

Updated 13 min 40 sec ago

Reuters AFP

October 03, 2024 03:18

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: At least six people were killed in an Israeli air raid on a Hezbollah rescue facility in the heart of Beirut late Wednesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The Israeli strike in the early hours of Thursday came after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
Israel said it conducted a precise air strike on Beirut. Witnesses reported hearing a massive blast, and a security source said it targeted a building in central Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood close to parliament, the nearest Israeli strikes have come to Lebanon’s seat of government.

Seven people were also wounded, Lebanese health officials said. A photo being circulated on Lebanese WhatsApp groups showed a heavily damaged building with its first floor on fire.
Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said. The southern suburbs came under more than a dozen Israeli strikes on Wednesday.
A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, Israel said on Wednesday eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbor.

The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units joined its ground operations in Lebanon on Wednesday as Iran’s missile attack and Israel’s promise of retaliation raised concerns that the oil-producing Middle East could be caught up in a wider conflict.
Hezbollah said its fighters engaged Israeli forces inside Lebanon. The movement reported ground clashes for the first time since Israeli forces pushed over the border on Monday. Hezbollah said it had destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with rockets near the border town of Maroun El Ras.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a condolence video, said: “We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran’s Axis of Evil, which wants to destroy us.
“This will not happen because we will stand together and with God’s help, we will win together,” he said.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli air raids killed at least 46 people in the south and center of the country over the past 24 hours.
Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley — its biggest ever assault on Israel — was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.
US President Joe Biden said he would not support any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites
in response to its ballistic missile attack and urged Israel to act “proportionally” against its regional arch-foe.
Biden joined a call with Group of Seven major power leaders on Wednesday to coordinate a response, including new sanctions against Tehran, the White House said.

G7 leaders voiced “strong concern” over the Middle East crisis but said a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one’s interest, a statement said.
Hezbollah said it repelled Israeli forces near several border towns and also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.
The paramilitary group’s media chief Mohammad Afif said those battles were only “the first round” and that Hezbollah had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israel.
Israel’s addition of infantry and armored troops from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armored Brigade and 6th Infantry Brigade, suggested that the operation might expand beyond limited commando raids.
The military has said its incursion is largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting the Lebanese capital Beirut to the north or major cities in the south.

1.2 million Lebanese displaced
Nevertheless, it issued new evacuation orders for around two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing inhabitants to head north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km (37 miles) north of the Israeli frontier.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that about 1.2 million Lebanese had been displaced by Israeli attacks.
Malika Joumaa, from Sudan, was forced to take shelter in Saint Joseph’s church in Beirut after being forced from her house near Sidon in coastal south Lebanon with her husband and two children.
“It’s good that the church offered its help. We were going to stay in the streets; where would we have gone?“
Iran described Tuesday’s missile assault as a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders, including Nasrallah, attacks in Lebanon against the group and Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
There were no casualties from the missile onslaught in Israel, but one person was killed in the occupied West Bank.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon

Lebanon’s rescuers struggle to respond to Israeli offensive while under fire and using old equipment

Updated 03 October 2024

October 03, 2024 02:58

Lebanon’s rescuers struggle to respond to Israeli offensive while under fire and using old equipment

An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care
“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics. We have no gloves, no personal protection gear,” says Mohamed Arkadan, head of a local emergency response team

Updated 03 October 2024

October 03, 2024 02:58

BEIRUT: When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.
About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies, including children’s, from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.
The children’s bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders’ inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.
An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care. Political divisions have left the country of 6 million without a president or functioning government for more than two years, deepening a national sense of abandonment reaching down to the people the country depends on in emergencies.
“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics,” Arkadan said. “We have no gloves, no personal protection gear.”
War has upended Lebanon again
Israel’s intensified air campaign against Hezbollah has upended the country. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Sept. 17, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
On Wednesday, two Israeli strikes hit an Islamic rescue center, affiliated with Hezbollah, in Lebanon’s south, killing six medics and destroying the building, according to Lebanon’s National News agency. Before those deaths were reported, the ministry said it had documented the deaths of over 40 medics and rescuers.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, sleeping on beaches and streets.
The World Health Organization said over 30 primary health care centers around Lebanon’s affected areas have been closed.
On Tuesday, Israel said it began a limited ground operation against Hezbollah and warned people to evacuate several southern communities, promising further escalation.
Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, who said the UN had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.
Exhausted medical staff are struggling to cope with the daily influx of new patients. Under government emergency plans, hospitals and medical workers have halted non-urgent operations.
Government shelters are full
In the southern province of Tyre, many doctors have fled along with residents. In Nabatiyeh, the largest province in southern Lebanon, first responders say they have been working around the clock since last week to reach hundreds of people wounded in bombings that hit dozens of villages and towns, often many on the same day.
After the bombing in Sidon nearly 250 first responders joined Arkadan’s team, including a specialized search-and-rescue unit from Beirut, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) to the north. His team didn’t have the modern equipment needed to pull people from a disaster.
“We used traditional tools, like scissors, cables, shovels,” Arkadan said.
“Anyone here?” rescuers shouted through the gaps in mounds of rubble, searching for survivors buried deeper underground. One excavator removed the debris slowly, to avoid shaking the heaps of bricks and mangled steel.
Many sought refuge in the ancient city of Tyre, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Israel, thinking it was likely to be spared bombardment. More than 8,000 people arrived, said Hassan Dbouk, the head of its disaster management unit.
He said that there were no pre-positioned supplies, such as food parcels, hygiene kits and mattresses, and moving trucks now is fraught with danger. Farmers have been denied access to their land because of the bombings and the municipality is struggling to pay salaries.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic
Meanwhile, garbage is piling up on the streets. The number of municipal workers has shrunk from 160 to 10.
“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Dbouk said.
Wissam Ghazal, the health ministry official in Tyre, said in one hospital, only five of 35 doctors have remained. In Tyre province, eight medics, including three with a medical organization affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed over two days, he said.
Over the weekend, the city itself became a focus of attacks.
Israeli warplanes struck near the port city’s famed ruins, along its beaches and in residential and commercial areas, forcing thousands of residents to flee. At least 15 civilians were killed Saturday and Sunday, including two municipal workers, a soldier and several children, all but one from two families.
It took rescuers two days to comb through the rubble of a home in the Kharab neighborhood in the city’s center, where a bomb had killed nine members of the Al-Samra family.
Six premature babies in incubators around the city were moved to Beirut. The city’s only doctor, who looked after them, couldn’t move between hospitals under fire, Ghazal said.
One of the district’s four hospitals shut after sustaining damage from a strike that affected its electricity supply and damaged the operations room. In two other hospitals, glass windows were broken. For now, the city’s hospitals are receiving more killed than wounded.
“But you don’t know what will happen when the intensity of attacks increases. We will definitely need more.”
Making do with what they have
Hosein Faqih, head of civil defense in the Nabatiyeh province, said that “we are working in very difficult and critical circumstances because the strikes are random. We have no protection. We have no shields, no helmets, no extra hoses. The newest vehicle is 25 years old. We are still working despite all that.”
At least three of his firefighters’ team were killed in early September. Ten have been injured since then. Of 45 vehicles, six were hit and are now out of service.
Faqih said he is limiting his team’s search-and-rescue missions to residential areas, keeping them away from forests or open areas where they used to put out fires.
“These days, there is something difficult every day. Body parts are everywhere, children, civilians and bodies under rubble,” Faqih said. Still, he said, he considers his job to be the safety net for the people.
“We serve the people, and we will work with what we have.”

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

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Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

Ukraine forces pulling out of Vuhledar frontline town after 2 years of intense fighting

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