Iran strike will show your force, Israel’s defense chief tells pilots

Iran strike will show your force, Israel’s defense chief tells pilots
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told Air Force crews on Wednesday that after striking in Iran, the world will understand Israel's might and its enemies will learn a lesson, according to a video and an X post published by his office. (AFP/File)
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Iran strike will show your force, Israel’s defense chief tells pilots

Iran strike will show your force, Israel’s defense chief tells pilots
  • Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on Oct. 1, Tehran’s second direct attack on Israel in six months
  • “After we attack in Iran, they will understand in Israel and elsewhere what your preparations have included,” Gallant said

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Air Force crews on Wednesday that after striking in Iran, the world will understand Israel’s might and its enemies will learn a lesson, according to a video and an X post published by his office.
Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on Oct. 1, Tehran’s second direct attack on Israel in six months.
“After we attack in Iran, they will understand in Israel and elsewhere what your preparations have included,” Gallant told the crews in the video, which his office said was filmed at Hatzerim Air Base.
On X, Gallant added: “In my conversation with them I emphasized — after we attack Iran, everyone will understand your might, the process of preparation and training — any enemy that tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price.”
The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of the Israeli retaliation for Iran’s attack in which around 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel.
In the past few weeks Israel has intensified its offensive against Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza and its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war was triggered a year ago by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
Washington is seeking to head off further widening of the conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.


Germany’s Baerbock says arms exports to Israel pose ‘dilemma’ amid risks to international law

Germany’s Baerbock says arms exports to Israel pose ‘dilemma’ amid risks to international law
Updated 9 sec ago
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Germany’s Baerbock says arms exports to Israel pose ‘dilemma’ amid risks to international law

Germany’s Baerbock says arms exports to Israel pose ‘dilemma’ amid risks to international law
She made no indication that Germany was reconsidering its longtime policy of supplying arms to Israel
Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week said Germany, one of Israel’s staunchest Western allies, would continue to provide such military aid

BEIRUT/BERLIN: Germany’s foreign minister said on Wednesday Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks but supplying it with weapons had posed “a dilemma” amid concerns over international law violations.
Annalena Baerbock spoke after arriving in Lebanon for talks on how to defuse escalating Israel-Hezbollah hostilities, five days after the UN said its peacekeepers had been Targeted by Israeli forces in south Lebanon’s conflict zone.
“On the one hand, Israel is attacked every day and not supporting it would mean that people are not (being) protected ... On the other, it is also Germany’s responsibility to stand up for international humanitarian law,” Baerbock said.
She made no indication that Germany was reconsidering its longtime policy of supplying arms to Israel. Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week said Germany, one of Israel’s staunchest Western allies, would continue to provide such military aid.
Baerbock said Israel had the right to defend itself against Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah but also a responsibility to ensure it adheres to international humanitarian law.
Baerbock spoke to journalists in Beirut after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who has been engaging in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
The UN mission in Lebanon said last week its outposts near Lebanon’s border with Israel had come under several “deliberate” Israeli attacks and that efforts to help civilians in villages in the war zone were being hampered by Israeli shelling.
“Any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers violates humanitarian law,” said Baerbock.
Israel says UN forces in south Lebanon have effectively provided a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers for their own safety — a request that it has refused.
Baerbock said the key to achieving peace is the full implementation of the 18-year-old UN Resolution 1701, which entails a Hezbollah withdrawal behind Lebanon’s Litani River and Israeli forces back from the “Blue Line” demarcating the border.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has a crucial role in maintaining stability in the region, and all parties involved must protect UNIFIL soldiers, she added.
Baerbock was set to have a video conference with UNIFIL Commanding General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz later in the afternoon.
“Our common message to the people of Lebanon is that we will not look away, we will not leave them alone,” Baerbock said.
“We are working on a diplomatic solution that respects the security interests of both Israel and Lebanon,” she added.
Germany’s DPA news agency said Berlin approved arms exports to Israel worth around 31 million euros ($34 million) over the past eight weeks, more than twice as much as in the first 7-1/2 months of this year.

Explosion outside Turkish aerospace HQ near Ankara: media

Explosion outside Turkish aerospace HQ near Ankara: media
Updated 17 min 20 sec ago
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Explosion outside Turkish aerospace HQ near Ankara: media

Explosion outside Turkish aerospace HQ near Ankara: media

ANKARA: An explosion took place in front of the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace (TAI) just outside Ankara on Wednesday, Turkish media reported, saying there was also the sound of gunshots.
Initial images shown by Turkiye’s private NTV television channel showed a large cloud of smoke in front of the site’s entrance some 40 kilometers outside the capital, saying the blast took place at around 4 p.m. (1300 GMT).


US has not seen evidence of Hezbollah cash bunker under Beirut hospital, Pentagon chief says

US has not seen evidence of Hezbollah cash bunker under Beirut hospital, Pentagon chief says
Updated 36 min 58 sec ago
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US has not seen evidence of Hezbollah cash bunker under Beirut hospital, Pentagon chief says

US has not seen evidence of Hezbollah cash bunker under Beirut hospital, Pentagon chief says
  • “We will continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they are looking at,” Austin told reporters in Rome
  • Fadi Alameh, a Lebanese lawmaker and the director of Al-Sahel hospital has told Reuters that Israel was making false and slanderous claims

ROME: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that he had not seen evidence that there was a Hezbollah bunker filled with cash built under a hospital in Beirut, adding that Washington would continue to work with Israel to get better insights.
Israel’s military said that Hezbollah has stashed hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a bunker built under a hospital in Beirut, adding that it would not strike the facility as it keeps up attacks against the group’s financial assets.
“We have not seen evidence of that at this moment. But, you know, we will continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they are looking at,” Austin told reporters in Rome.
Fadi Alameh, a Lebanese lawmaker with the Shiite Amal Movement party and the director of the hospital in question, Al-Sahel, has told Reuters that Israel was making false and slanderous claims and called on the Lebanese Army to visit and show it had only operating rooms, patients and a morgue.
In a televised statement on Monday, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel last month, had built the bunker which was designed for lengthy stays.


Iraqi-led attacks kill seven Daesh operatives, US Centcom says

Iraqi-led attacks kill seven Daesh operatives, US Centcom says
Updated 50 min 40 sec ago
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Iraqi-led attacks kill seven Daesh operatives, US Centcom says

Iraqi-led attacks kill seven Daesh operatives, US Centcom says
  • Attacks were launched against multiple Daesh targets including senior leaders
  • Two US military personnel were wounded in the operations and were in stable condition

WASHINGTON: Iraqi-led strikes and raids killed at least seven Daesh operatives in Iraq, US Central Command said on Wednesday, a day after Baghdad reported the militant group’s commander for Iraq had been killed in a military operation.
A Centcom statement did not identify the operatives but said the attacks were launched against multiple Daesh targets including senior leaders.
Two US military personnel were wounded in the operations and were in stable condition, Centcom said.
The Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) provided technical support and intelligence that enabled the raids, it said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said on Tuesday that the Daesh commander for Iraq had been killed in an operation in Iraq’s Hamrin Mountains.
A US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq will end by next September and there will be a transition to bilateral security partnerships, the US and Iraq said last month.


Turkish Airlines, Pegasus halt flights to Iran until Nov 1

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus halt flights to Iran until Nov 1
Updated 56 min 19 sec ago
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Turkish Airlines, Pegasus halt flights to Iran until Nov 1

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus halt flights to Iran until Nov 1
  • Both airlines have canceled flights to multiple Iranian cities including the capital Tehran
  • Turkish Airlines travel to Iran was showing as “canceled” on the website of Istanbul’s airport

ANKARA: Turkish-owned carriers Turkish Airlines and Pegasus have suspended flights to Iran until November 1, local media said on Wednesday, as Iran braces for a promised retaliatory attack by Israel.
Both airlines have canceled flights to multiple Iranian cities including the capital Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan for “security reasons,” Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.
The firms have yet to confirm the decision on their websites and social media.
But Turkish Airlines travel to Iran was showing as “canceled” on the website of Istanbul’s airport, while Pegasus closed online bookings to Iran.
Iran has been bracing for retaliatory attack vowed by Israel after Tehran launched a barrage of around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1.
Turkish Airlines in August canceled night flights to Tehran, as fears mounted of an escalation in the Middle East, without officially announcing the decision.
Several carriers including German group Lufthansa have stopped flying to Tehran and the Lebanese capital Beirut.