Tensions on Lebanon-Israel border: Civilians being evacuated
🇧🇩 Monitoring Israel and Lebanon War
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Israel ready for ‘all-out war’ in Lebanon
Israel is ready for an “all-out war” in Lebanon and has plans approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah, officials said.
Israel ready for 'all-out war' in Lebanon
Say officials after Hezbollah releases threatening drone footage of the Israeli port city of Haifa
Israel is ready for an "all-out war" in Lebanon and has plans approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah, officials said.
The claims from Israel's foreign minister and military late on Tuesday followed Hezbollah's release of threatening drone footage. The climbing tension conflicts with United States efforts to avert an escalation amid months of low-level hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border.
The nine-minute drone footage of the Israeli port city of Haifa filmed in daytime, showed civilian and military areas, including malls and residential quarters, in addition to a weapons manufacturing complex and missile defence batteries.
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded vehemently in a post on X, calling out Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah for boasting about filming the ports of Haifa, which are operated by foreign companies from China and India.
"We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit," he wrote.
More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past eight months, with 25 deaths in Israel.
Later, the Israeli military said in a statement that Ori Gordin, head of its Northern Command, which includes the front line with Hezbollah, has approved plans to mount a ground assault across Israel's northern border, reports Al Jazeera online.
"As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field," it said.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in border fighting since the start of the offensive on Gaza on October 7. The confrontation is increasingly expanding, with both sides saying they are ready to go to war. Nasrallah has said in the past that Hezbollah will only stop its attacks if Israel halts its invasion of Gaza.
Hezbollah recently said that it has carried out more than 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8 in what it says is an effort to support Palestinians.
More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past eight months, with 25 deaths in Israel. At least 90,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, and more than 60,000 have been forced from their homes in northern Israel.
Say officials after Hezbollah releases threatening drone footage of the Israeli port city of Haifa
Israel is ready for an "all-out war" in Lebanon and has plans approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah, officials said.
The claims from Israel's foreign minister and military late on Tuesday followed Hezbollah's release of threatening drone footage. The climbing tension conflicts with United States efforts to avert an escalation amid months of low-level hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border.
The nine-minute drone footage of the Israeli port city of Haifa filmed in daytime, showed civilian and military areas, including malls and residential quarters, in addition to a weapons manufacturing complex and missile defence batteries.
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded vehemently in a post on X, calling out Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah for boasting about filming the ports of Haifa, which are operated by foreign companies from China and India.
"We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit," he wrote.
More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past eight months, with 25 deaths in Israel.
Later, the Israeli military said in a statement that Ori Gordin, head of its Northern Command, which includes the front line with Hezbollah, has approved plans to mount a ground assault across Israel's northern border, reports Al Jazeera online.
"As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field," it said.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in border fighting since the start of the offensive on Gaza on October 7. The confrontation is increasingly expanding, with both sides saying they are ready to go to war. Nasrallah has said in the past that Hezbollah will only stop its attacks if Israel halts its invasion of Gaza.
Hezbollah recently said that it has carried out more than 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8 in what it says is an effort to support Palestinians.
More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past eight months, with 25 deaths in Israel. At least 90,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, and more than 60,000 have been forced from their homes in northern Israel.
D
Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)
Hopefully the Arab countries will be united against Israel because of Israhell's transgressions.
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Iran warns Israel of obliterating war if Lebanon attacked
Iran on Saturday warned that ‘all resistance fronts’, a grouping of Iran and its regional allies, would confront Israel if it attacks Lebanon...
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Iran warns Israel of obliterating war if Lebanon attacked
Agence France-Presse . Tehran 29 June, 2024, 23:56
Supporters and activists of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba take part in a demonstration to express their solidarity with the Palestinians, in Karachi Saturday amid the ongoing genocide of Palestinians by Israel. | AFP photo
Iran on Saturday warned that 'all resistance fronts', a grouping of Iran and its regional allies, would confront Israel if it attacks Lebanon.
The comment from Iran's mission to New York comes with fears of a wider regional war involving Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. The two sides have engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire since the war in Gaza began.
Such exchanges have escalated this month, alongside bellicose rhetoric from both sides. Israel's military said plans for a Lebanon offensive had been 'approved and validated', prompting Hezbollah to respond that none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict.
In a post on social media platform X, the Iranian mission said it 'deems as psychological warfare the Zionist regime's propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon'.
But, it added, 'should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue. All options, incl. the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table.'
The war in Gaza began in October when Hamas Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel.
Iran, which backs Hamas, has praised the attack as a success but has denied any involvement.
Alongside Hezbollah's attacks on northern
Israel, Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have repeatedly struck commercial ships in the Red Sea area in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Iran also backs other groups in the region.
The Islamic republic has not recognised Israel since the 1979 revolution that toppled Iran's United States-backed shah.
Fears of regional war also soared in April, after an air strike that levelled Iran's consulate in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
Iran hit back with an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13-14.
Iran's state media later reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan as US media quoted American officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival.
Tehran downplayed the reported Israeli raid.
Agence France-Presse . Tehran 29 June, 2024, 23:56
Supporters and activists of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba take part in a demonstration to express their solidarity with the Palestinians, in Karachi Saturday amid the ongoing genocide of Palestinians by Israel. | AFP photo
Iran on Saturday warned that 'all resistance fronts', a grouping of Iran and its regional allies, would confront Israel if it attacks Lebanon.
The comment from Iran's mission to New York comes with fears of a wider regional war involving Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. The two sides have engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire since the war in Gaza began.
Such exchanges have escalated this month, alongside bellicose rhetoric from both sides. Israel's military said plans for a Lebanon offensive had been 'approved and validated', prompting Hezbollah to respond that none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict.
In a post on social media platform X, the Iranian mission said it 'deems as psychological warfare the Zionist regime's propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon'.
But, it added, 'should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue. All options, incl. the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table.'
The war in Gaza began in October when Hamas Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel.
Iran, which backs Hamas, has praised the attack as a success but has denied any involvement.
Alongside Hezbollah's attacks on northern
Israel, Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have repeatedly struck commercial ships in the Red Sea area in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Iran also backs other groups in the region.
The Islamic republic has not recognised Israel since the 1979 revolution that toppled Iran's United States-backed shah.
Fears of regional war also soared in April, after an air strike that levelled Iran's consulate in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
Iran hit back with an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13-14.
Iran's state media later reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan as US media quoted American officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival.
Tehran downplayed the reported Israeli raid.
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In order for Arab countries to be united, Saudi Arabia and UAE need to stop ass licking of Israel and the USA.
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Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)
Well you cannot blame what Saudi Arabia and UAE are doing in their national interests. Same goes for Egypt and Jordan.
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10 Syrian refugees killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Saturday in southern Lebanon killed 10 Syrians, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
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10 Syrian refugees killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon
Agence France-Presse . Beirut 17 August, 2024, 23:41
Relatives mourn over the bodies of four members of the same family, including two children, killed in an Israeli strike in the Wadi al-Kafur area of the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on Saturday. | AFP photo
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Saturday in southern Lebanon killed 10 Syrians, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The toll from the strike in the Wadi al-Kafur area of Nabatieh is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israeli forces began exchanging near-daily fire over their border after war in the Gaza Strip began in October.
International mediators have been trying to reach a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants, which diplomats say could help to avert a wider war in which Lebanon would be on the front line.
The death toll from the latest strike included ‘a woman and her two children’ while five other people were wounded, most of them also Syrian, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement.
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the casualties were Syrian refugees and workers.
Israel’s military, on its Telegram channel, said the air force had struck a weapons storage facility of Lebanon’s Hezbollah overnight ‘in the area of Nabatieh’, which is about 12 kilometres (seven miles) from the nearest point of the Israeli border.
Following the deaths in Wadi al-Kafur, Hezbollah said it responded with a volley of Katyusha rockets on Ayelet HaShahar, a community in northern Israel.
None of the roughly 55 projectiles caused any reported injuries but they sparked ‘multiple fires’, Israel’s military said.
Earlier, around 20 kilometres to the north ‘a projectile that crossed from Lebanon’ wounded two soldiers, one of them severely, in the Misgav Am area, Israel’s military said.
The killings in quick succession in late July of Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, led to vows of vengeance from Hezbollah, Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region which blamed Israel.
The cross-border violence between Lebanon and Israel has killed 580 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 128 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.
Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006.
Agence France-Presse . Beirut 17 August, 2024, 23:41
Relatives mourn over the bodies of four members of the same family, including two children, killed in an Israeli strike in the Wadi al-Kafur area of the southern Lebanese Nabatiyeh district on Saturday. | AFP photo
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Saturday in southern Lebanon killed 10 Syrians, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The toll from the strike in the Wadi al-Kafur area of Nabatieh is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israeli forces began exchanging near-daily fire over their border after war in the Gaza Strip began in October.
International mediators have been trying to reach a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants, which diplomats say could help to avert a wider war in which Lebanon would be on the front line.
The death toll from the latest strike included ‘a woman and her two children’ while five other people were wounded, most of them also Syrian, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement.
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the casualties were Syrian refugees and workers.
Israel’s military, on its Telegram channel, said the air force had struck a weapons storage facility of Lebanon’s Hezbollah overnight ‘in the area of Nabatieh’, which is about 12 kilometres (seven miles) from the nearest point of the Israeli border.
Following the deaths in Wadi al-Kafur, Hezbollah said it responded with a volley of Katyusha rockets on Ayelet HaShahar, a community in northern Israel.
None of the roughly 55 projectiles caused any reported injuries but they sparked ‘multiple fires’, Israel’s military said.
Earlier, around 20 kilometres to the north ‘a projectile that crossed from Lebanon’ wounded two soldiers, one of them severely, in the Misgav Am area, Israel’s military said.
The killings in quick succession in late July of Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, led to vows of vengeance from Hezbollah, Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region which blamed Israel.
The cross-border violence between Lebanon and Israel has killed 580 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 128 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.
Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006.
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Hezbollah claims attacks on north Israel
Lebanese group Hezbollah said yesterday two of its fighters were killed and claimed attacks on northern Israel, including with drones, the latest cross-border violence amid fears of full-blown war.
Hezbollah claims attacks on north Israel
Says two of its fighters killed
Lebanese group Hezbollah said yesterday two of its fighters were killed and claimed attacks on northern Israel, including with drones, the latest cross-border violence amid fears of full-blown war.
The powerful Iran-backed group has exchanged regular cross-border fire with Israeli army in support of ally Hamas since the Israeli offensive in Gaza began on October 7.
Hezbollah said two of its fighters were "martyred on the road to Jerusalem", the phrase it has used to refer to members killed by Israeli fire since October.
The Israeli military said air forces struck "Hezbollah terrorists" in the Hula area and "Hezbollah military structures" elsewhere in south Lebanon.
Lebanon media reported Israeli shelling and raids on several southern areas.
Says two of its fighters killed
Lebanese group Hezbollah said yesterday two of its fighters were killed and claimed attacks on northern Israel, including with drones, the latest cross-border violence amid fears of full-blown war.
The powerful Iran-backed group has exchanged regular cross-border fire with Israeli army in support of ally Hamas since the Israeli offensive in Gaza began on October 7.
Hezbollah said two of its fighters were "martyred on the road to Jerusalem", the phrase it has used to refer to members killed by Israeli fire since October.
The Israeli military said air forces struck "Hezbollah terrorists" in the Hula area and "Hezbollah military structures" elsewhere in south Lebanon.
Lebanon media reported Israeli shelling and raids on several southern areas.
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Israel strikes on Lebanon kill 7
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday Israeli strikes killed seven people including a child in different parts of the south, with Hezbollah saying three of its fighters were...
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Israel strikes on Lebanon kill 7
Agence France-Presse . Beirut 23 August, 2024, 23:02
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday Israeli strikes killed seven people including a child in different parts of the south, with Hezbollah saying three of its fighters were among the dead.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has exchanged regular fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
The health ministry said an ‘Israeli enemy drone strike’ killed two people including a ‘seven-year-old’ in Aita al-Shaab, and two other ‘Israeli’ strikes killed five people in three other locations in the south.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a ‘hostile drone’ targeted a house in Aita al-Shaab with ‘two guided missiles’.
The health ministry said Israeli strikes included a raid ‘on the village of Tayr Harfa that killed three people’, with Hezbollah later mourning three fighters killed by Israeli fire, including a man from that same village.
A source close to the group said that the three fighters were killed in the Tayr Harfa strike.
Israel’s military said its aircraft ‘eliminated’ members of ‘a terrorist cell that was planning to fire projectiles from the area of Tayr Harfa’.
On Friday morning, Hezbollah said it had targeted the northern Israel base of Meron ‘in response to the enemy’s attacks on southern villages and homes’.
The threat of full-blown war grew after Iran and Hezbollah vowed to avenge the killings last month, blamed on Israel, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut.
Cross-border violence since the Gaza war started has killed 600 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The Israeli authorities have announced the deaths of at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians since the escalation began.
Agence France-Presse . Beirut 23 August, 2024, 23:02
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday Israeli strikes killed seven people including a child in different parts of the south, with Hezbollah saying three of its fighters were among the dead.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has exchanged regular fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
The health ministry said an ‘Israeli enemy drone strike’ killed two people including a ‘seven-year-old’ in Aita al-Shaab, and two other ‘Israeli’ strikes killed five people in three other locations in the south.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a ‘hostile drone’ targeted a house in Aita al-Shaab with ‘two guided missiles’.
The health ministry said Israeli strikes included a raid ‘on the village of Tayr Harfa that killed three people’, with Hezbollah later mourning three fighters killed by Israeli fire, including a man from that same village.
A source close to the group said that the three fighters were killed in the Tayr Harfa strike.
Israel’s military said its aircraft ‘eliminated’ members of ‘a terrorist cell that was planning to fire projectiles from the area of Tayr Harfa’.
On Friday morning, Hezbollah said it had targeted the northern Israel base of Meron ‘in response to the enemy’s attacks on southern villages and homes’.
The threat of full-blown war grew after Iran and Hezbollah vowed to avenge the killings last month, blamed on Israel, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut.
Cross-border violence since the Gaza war started has killed 600 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The Israeli authorities have announced the deaths of at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians since the escalation began.
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UN peacekeepers worried in south Lebanon crossfire
On the deserted border between Lebanon and Israel, Spanish UN peacekeepers have for more than 10 months effectively been caught in a war zone.
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UN peacekeepers worried in south Lebanon crossfire
Agence France-Presse . Palestine 24 August, 2024, 23:10
On the deserted border between Lebanon and Israel, Spanish UN peacekeepers have for more than 10 months effectively been caught in a war zone.
Several Blue Helmets have been wounded in the crossfire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, which has also left dozens of Lebanese civilians dead in fallout from the war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
‘Sometimes we need to shelter because of the shelling... sometimes even inside the bunkers,’ said Alvaro Gonzalez Gavalda, a Blue Helmet at Base 964 of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
To reach the base, AFP journalists escorted in a UNIFIL convoy passed through virtually deserted villages. Only the occasional grocer or automotive repair shop were still open along the road where fields have been left charred by bombardment.
The base, surrounded by barbed wire and protected with heavy stone-filled berms, is not far from the town of Khiam, where dozens of houses have been destroyed or damaged, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.
Over a wall that marks the frontier, the Israeli town of Metula is clearly visible. It has also been emptied of residents, as have other communities on both sides of the boundary.
From a watchtower, binoculars help the peacekeepers see further—into the Golan Heights annexed by Israel. The area has been a frequent target of Hezbollah fire.
Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Jose Irisarri said their mission, under Security Council Resolution 1701, is to ‘control the area’ and help the Lebanese government and armed forces establish control south of the Litani River, which is around 30 kilometres from the border with Israel.
The resolution ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
It called for all armed personnel to pull back north of the Litani, except for Lebanese state security forces and United Nations peacekeepers.
While Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence in the border area since then, the group still holds sway over large parts of the south.
When Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel on October 7, triggering war with Israel, Hezbollah opened what it calls a ‘support front’ a day later, launching rockets and other fire from southern Lebanon against Israeli positions.
Israel has hit back with air strikes and artillery fire.
‘Some of these villages are completely empty. There is no one living there because of the risk and the constant attacks they are suffering,’ Irisarri said.
The Security Council first established UNIFIL in 1978 after Israel invaded south Lebanon. Its mission was expanded after the 2006 war.
Now, with fears of a wider regional war in which Lebanon would be on the front line, the UN’s Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said UNIFIL’s role is ‘more important than ever’.
Spain’s contingent of 650 soldiers, based at several positions, are among around 10,000 troops from 49 countries in the mission.
‘It’s the only liaison channel between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side in all its components, such as Hezbollah,’ Lacroix told AFP in early August.
UNIFIL’s mandate expires at the end of August and Lebanon has asked for its renewal.
Cross-border violence since the Gaza war started has killed 601 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The Israeli authorities have announced the deaths of at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians since the fighting began, including in the annexed Golan Heights.
The Spaniards don’t just limit themselves to their core mission. They also give ‘support and some help’ to the local population, Irisarri said.
As an example, he said their psychological team assists students with special needs.
AFP was unable to visit the school during its tour on Friday, after the Spanish contingent raised the security level following exchanges of fire in the area.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s south on Friday killed seven Hezbollah fighters and a local child, according to Hezbollah and Lebanon’s health ministry. Israel said its military aircraft had hit ‘terrorist’ targets.
The peacekeepers have little time to rest, but have the company of two adopted dogs.
When they do have leisure time, ‘we go to the gym to keep fit and also we enjoy watching movies and talking to some friends’, said Gavalda.
He has been in Lebanon since May.
‘We miss our families,’ but internet enables them to stay in touch almost daily, Gavalda said.
Surrounded by death, the soldiers have set up on their grounds a small statue of the Virgin Mary inside a protective glass case.
Agence France-Presse . Palestine 24 August, 2024, 23:10
On the deserted border between Lebanon and Israel, Spanish UN peacekeepers have for more than 10 months effectively been caught in a war zone.
Several Blue Helmets have been wounded in the crossfire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, which has also left dozens of Lebanese civilians dead in fallout from the war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
‘Sometimes we need to shelter because of the shelling... sometimes even inside the bunkers,’ said Alvaro Gonzalez Gavalda, a Blue Helmet at Base 964 of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
To reach the base, AFP journalists escorted in a UNIFIL convoy passed through virtually deserted villages. Only the occasional grocer or automotive repair shop were still open along the road where fields have been left charred by bombardment.
The base, surrounded by barbed wire and protected with heavy stone-filled berms, is not far from the town of Khiam, where dozens of houses have been destroyed or damaged, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.
Over a wall that marks the frontier, the Israeli town of Metula is clearly visible. It has also been emptied of residents, as have other communities on both sides of the boundary.
From a watchtower, binoculars help the peacekeepers see further—into the Golan Heights annexed by Israel. The area has been a frequent target of Hezbollah fire.
Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Jose Irisarri said their mission, under Security Council Resolution 1701, is to ‘control the area’ and help the Lebanese government and armed forces establish control south of the Litani River, which is around 30 kilometres from the border with Israel.
The resolution ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
It called for all armed personnel to pull back north of the Litani, except for Lebanese state security forces and United Nations peacekeepers.
While Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence in the border area since then, the group still holds sway over large parts of the south.
When Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel on October 7, triggering war with Israel, Hezbollah opened what it calls a ‘support front’ a day later, launching rockets and other fire from southern Lebanon against Israeli positions.
Israel has hit back with air strikes and artillery fire.
‘Some of these villages are completely empty. There is no one living there because of the risk and the constant attacks they are suffering,’ Irisarri said.
The Security Council first established UNIFIL in 1978 after Israel invaded south Lebanon. Its mission was expanded after the 2006 war.
Now, with fears of a wider regional war in which Lebanon would be on the front line, the UN’s Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said UNIFIL’s role is ‘more important than ever’.
Spain’s contingent of 650 soldiers, based at several positions, are among around 10,000 troops from 49 countries in the mission.
‘It’s the only liaison channel between the Israeli side and the Lebanese side in all its components, such as Hezbollah,’ Lacroix told AFP in early August.
UNIFIL’s mandate expires at the end of August and Lebanon has asked for its renewal.
Cross-border violence since the Gaza war started has killed 601 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The Israeli authorities have announced the deaths of at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians since the fighting began, including in the annexed Golan Heights.
The Spaniards don’t just limit themselves to their core mission. They also give ‘support and some help’ to the local population, Irisarri said.
As an example, he said their psychological team assists students with special needs.
AFP was unable to visit the school during its tour on Friday, after the Spanish contingent raised the security level following exchanges of fire in the area.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s south on Friday killed seven Hezbollah fighters and a local child, according to Hezbollah and Lebanon’s health ministry. Israel said its military aircraft had hit ‘terrorist’ targets.
The peacekeepers have little time to rest, but have the company of two adopted dogs.
When they do have leisure time, ‘we go to the gym to keep fit and also we enjoy watching movies and talking to some friends’, said Gavalda.
He has been in Lebanon since May.
‘We miss our families,’ but internet enables them to stay in touch almost daily, Gavalda said.
Surrounded by death, the soldiers have set up on their grounds a small statue of the Virgin Mary inside a protective glass case.
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Israel strikes Lebanon
Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying that it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border raids to avenge a top commander’s killing...
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Israel strikes Lebanon
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 26 August, 2024, 00:38
Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying that it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border raids to avenge a top commander’s killing.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets had destroyed ‘thousands’ of Hezbollah rocket launchers ‘aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel’, far from the border.
Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese armed group, countered that Israel was making ‘empty claims’ of having thwarted a larger attack, and said its own operation for Sunday ‘was completed and accomplished’.
The office of the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force urged ‘all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action’.
Hezbollah said its leader Hassan Nasrallah was due to speak on the ‘latest developments’ at 6:00pm (1500 GMT).
The group has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces throughout the Gaza war, in a campaign Hezbollah says is in support of Palestinian ally Hamas.
But fears of a wider regional conflagration soared after attacks in late July blamed on Israel killed Iran-aligned militant leaders, including Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, prompting vows of revenge.
Hezbollah, which last fought a major war against Israel in 2006, said its militants launched ‘a large number of drones’ and ‘more than 320’ Katyusha rockets targeting ‘enemy positions’ across the border.
The Lebanese movement said its attack was an ‘initial response’ to Shukr’s killing, adding that it had ‘ended with total success’, although the extent of the damage on the Israeli side was not immediately clear.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least three dead in Israeli strikes in the country’s south. No casualties were immediately reported in Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said his country’s strikes were meant ‘to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel’.
Another military spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, said Hezbollah’s strikes were ‘part of a larger attack that was planned and we were able to thwart a big part of it this morning’.
Israeli authorities declared a 48-hour state of emergency but later relaxed most of the restrictions.
By 7:00am (0400 GMT) flights had resumed at Israel’s main international airport after a brief suspension, the aviation authority said.
In Lebanon, Beirut airport did not close but some airlines, including Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways, cancelled flights.
Air France said it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut for at least 24 hours.
The United States, Israel’s top arms provider, said its military was ‘postured’ to support its ally.
The Israel-Hamas war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack, had already drawn in Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah and Yemen’s Huthi rebels.
The Huthis hailed the Hezbollah attack and declared that their own response for an Israeli strike on a key Yemeni port on July 20 was ‘definitely coming’.
The fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has killed hundreds, mostly in Lebanon, and displaced tens of thousands of residents in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
Some 605 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities say 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet and vowed ‘to do everything to return the residents of the north safely to their homes’ after more than 10 months of violence.
Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati told an emergency cabinet meeting he was in contact with ‘Lebanon’s friends to stop the escalation’.
In a call with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, his US counterpart Lloyd Austin reaffirmed ‘ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies’, the Pentagon said.
Shukr’s death last month and an attack hours later that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran ratcheted up concerns that the Gaza war could spiral into a broader conflict.
Hamas said Hezbollah’s Sunday attack was ‘strong’, hailing it as ‘a slap in the face’ for Israel.
In recent weeks, Western and Arab diplomats have sought to head off a broader response to the killings, as mediators were making their latest push towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
An official from Netanyahu’s office said a decision would be made later about whether Israeli spy chiefs would attend planned talks in Cairo on Sunday.
Hamas has said a delegation would go to Cairo but only to meet Egyptian officials, rather than participate in the discussions.
On the ground in the besieged Palestinian territory, an AFP correspondent reported strikes and shelling in Gaza City, where rescuers said at least three people were killed.
Witnesses said battles raged in the area of Deir al-Balah, further south.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,405 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not break down civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in their attack, 105 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 26 August, 2024, 00:38
Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on Sunday, saying that it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border raids to avenge a top commander’s killing.
The Israeli military said its fighter jets had destroyed ‘thousands’ of Hezbollah rocket launchers ‘aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel’, far from the border.
Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese armed group, countered that Israel was making ‘empty claims’ of having thwarted a larger attack, and said its own operation for Sunday ‘was completed and accomplished’.
The office of the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force urged ‘all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action’.
Hezbollah said its leader Hassan Nasrallah was due to speak on the ‘latest developments’ at 6:00pm (1500 GMT).
The group has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces throughout the Gaza war, in a campaign Hezbollah says is in support of Palestinian ally Hamas.
But fears of a wider regional conflagration soared after attacks in late July blamed on Israel killed Iran-aligned militant leaders, including Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, prompting vows of revenge.
Hezbollah, which last fought a major war against Israel in 2006, said its militants launched ‘a large number of drones’ and ‘more than 320’ Katyusha rockets targeting ‘enemy positions’ across the border.
The Lebanese movement said its attack was an ‘initial response’ to Shukr’s killing, adding that it had ‘ended with total success’, although the extent of the damage on the Israeli side was not immediately clear.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least three dead in Israeli strikes in the country’s south. No casualties were immediately reported in Israel.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said his country’s strikes were meant ‘to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel’.
Another military spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, said Hezbollah’s strikes were ‘part of a larger attack that was planned and we were able to thwart a big part of it this morning’.
Israeli authorities declared a 48-hour state of emergency but later relaxed most of the restrictions.
By 7:00am (0400 GMT) flights had resumed at Israel’s main international airport after a brief suspension, the aviation authority said.
In Lebanon, Beirut airport did not close but some airlines, including Royal Jordanian and Etihad Airways, cancelled flights.
Air France said it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut for at least 24 hours.
The United States, Israel’s top arms provider, said its military was ‘postured’ to support its ally.
The Israel-Hamas war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack, had already drawn in Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah and Yemen’s Huthi rebels.
The Huthis hailed the Hezbollah attack and declared that their own response for an Israeli strike on a key Yemeni port on July 20 was ‘definitely coming’.
The fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has killed hundreds, mostly in Lebanon, and displaced tens of thousands of residents in both southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
Some 605 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities say 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet and vowed ‘to do everything to return the residents of the north safely to their homes’ after more than 10 months of violence.
Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati told an emergency cabinet meeting he was in contact with ‘Lebanon’s friends to stop the escalation’.
In a call with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, his US counterpart Lloyd Austin reaffirmed ‘ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies’, the Pentagon said.
Shukr’s death last month and an attack hours later that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran ratcheted up concerns that the Gaza war could spiral into a broader conflict.
Hamas said Hezbollah’s Sunday attack was ‘strong’, hailing it as ‘a slap in the face’ for Israel.
In recent weeks, Western and Arab diplomats have sought to head off a broader response to the killings, as mediators were making their latest push towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
An official from Netanyahu’s office said a decision would be made later about whether Israeli spy chiefs would attend planned talks in Cairo on Sunday.
Hamas has said a delegation would go to Cairo but only to meet Egyptian officials, rather than participate in the discussions.
On the ground in the besieged Palestinian territory, an AFP correspondent reported strikes and shelling in Gaza City, where rescuers said at least three people were killed.
Witnesses said battles raged in the area of Deir al-Balah, further south.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,405 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not break down civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in their attack, 105 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
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Israel strikes Gaza after Lebanon flare-up
Israel’s military struck the Gaza Strip on Monday a day after truce talks in Cairo coincided with a major but brief cross-border escalation involving Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon...
www.newagebd.net
Israel strikes Gaza after Lebanon flare-up
Agence France-Presse . Palestinian Territories 26 August, 2024, 23:52
Israel’s military struck the Gaza Strip on Monday a day after truce talks in Cairo coincided with a major but brief cross-border escalation involving Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, has drawn in Tehran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East, repeatedly heightening fears of a broader regional conflagration.
In the latest flare-up between Israel and Hamas-ally Hezbollah, the Lebanese group on Sunday launched rockets and drones in retaliation for a top commander’s killing as Israel carried out air raids the military said thwarted a larger attack.
Israel swiftly revoked a state of emergency declared early on Sunday, and Hezbollah said its operation was ‘completed’.
Intense diplomacy has sought to head off a broader retaliation for the late July killings of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike on Beirut, and of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Mediators held meetings in the Egyptian capital on Sunday but reported no breakthrough in months of protracted negotiations to end the Gaza war as the fighting raged on.
A key sticking point has been Israel’s insistence that it keep control of several strategic areas, including the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, to stop Hamas from re-arming, something the militant group has refused to countenance.
Cairo, which has been mediating the talks alongside Qatar and the United States, made clear on Monday it would not support continued Israeli control of the corridor, according to state-linked media.
Egypt ‘reiterated to all parties that it will not accept any Israeli presence’ along the corridor, Al-Qahera news reported, citing a high-level source.
On the ground, witnesses and AFP correspondents reported air strikes and shelling in Gaza City and other parts of the besieged Palestinian territory overnight and Israel’s military said it had struck militants in the south.
Medics said an air strike on a Gaza City house killed at least five people, with two rescuers telling AFP more victims may be buried in the ruins in Al-Rimal neighbourhood.
‘There are still martyrs and body parts under the rubble,’ ambulance driver Hussein Muhaysen said.
An Israeli military statement said troops had ‘eliminated’ dozens of militants over the past day in the southern areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah, and near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,435 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not break down civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in their attack, 105 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hezbollah has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces throughout the war, in what the group says is support for its Palestinian ally Hamas.
After weeks of retaliation threats, Hezbollah early on Sunday launched what it said was part of its response to Shukr’s killing.
Speaking hours after Hezbollah announced its attacks on Israel with hundreds of rockets and drones, the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said the ‘main target’ was an intelligence base outside Tel Aviv, more than 100 kilometres from the Lebanese border.
Israel’s military said there were ‘no hits’ on the Glilot intelligence complex, which according to Israeli media is home to the headquarters of the Mossad spy agency.
Israeli air strikes at the same time hit more than 270 targets in Lebanon, ‘90 per cent’ of which were rockets ‘aimed at northern Israel’, the military said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet the strikes were ‘not the final word’ in the campaign against Hezbollah.
Nasrallah appeared to suggest Hezbollah’s retaliation for Shukr’s killing might be over, saying ‘if the result is satisfactory’ then its response ‘has been accomplished’.
Iranian foreign minister Nasser Kanani praised the Hezbollah attack, saying the ‘strategic balance has undergone fundamental changes’ to the detriment of Israel.
A Hamas official said that a delegation from the group met mediators in Egypt’s capital on Sunday. Israeli negotiators were also scheduled to go to Cairo.
The talks have been based on a framework laid out in late May by US president Joe Biden and a ‘bridging proposal’ Washington put forth earlier this month with support from Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
More than 10 months of war have left large parts of Gaza in ruins, ravaged its healthcare system and sparked a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of famine.
A batch of polio vaccines entered Gaza on Sunday, Israeli authorities said. UN agencies have planned a mass inoculation drive after the first case there in 25 years was confirmed.
Successive Israeli evacuation orders have forced many Gazans, most of whom have already been displaced at least once by the war, to move again.
Speaking to AFP on Sunday from her hospital bed outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tamam al-Raei said she did not know where to seek safety.
‘I have a war injury. I have broken bones and have had an amputation, and I have been receiving treatment for that,’ she said.
‘But now they’re telling us to evacuate Al-Aqsa. Where do we go? Where do I get treatment?’
Agence France-Presse . Palestinian Territories 26 August, 2024, 23:52
Israel’s military struck the Gaza Strip on Monday a day after truce talks in Cairo coincided with a major but brief cross-border escalation involving Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, has drawn in Tehran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East, repeatedly heightening fears of a broader regional conflagration.
In the latest flare-up between Israel and Hamas-ally Hezbollah, the Lebanese group on Sunday launched rockets and drones in retaliation for a top commander’s killing as Israel carried out air raids the military said thwarted a larger attack.
Israel swiftly revoked a state of emergency declared early on Sunday, and Hezbollah said its operation was ‘completed’.
Intense diplomacy has sought to head off a broader retaliation for the late July killings of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike on Beirut, and of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Mediators held meetings in the Egyptian capital on Sunday but reported no breakthrough in months of protracted negotiations to end the Gaza war as the fighting raged on.
A key sticking point has been Israel’s insistence that it keep control of several strategic areas, including the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, to stop Hamas from re-arming, something the militant group has refused to countenance.
Cairo, which has been mediating the talks alongside Qatar and the United States, made clear on Monday it would not support continued Israeli control of the corridor, according to state-linked media.
Egypt ‘reiterated to all parties that it will not accept any Israeli presence’ along the corridor, Al-Qahera news reported, citing a high-level source.
On the ground, witnesses and AFP correspondents reported air strikes and shelling in Gaza City and other parts of the besieged Palestinian territory overnight and Israel’s military said it had struck militants in the south.
Medics said an air strike on a Gaza City house killed at least five people, with two rescuers telling AFP more victims may be buried in the ruins in Al-Rimal neighbourhood.
‘There are still martyrs and body parts under the rubble,’ ambulance driver Hussein Muhaysen said.
An Israeli military statement said troops had ‘eliminated’ dozens of militants over the past day in the southern areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah, and near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,435 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not break down civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in their attack, 105 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hezbollah has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces throughout the war, in what the group says is support for its Palestinian ally Hamas.
After weeks of retaliation threats, Hezbollah early on Sunday launched what it said was part of its response to Shukr’s killing.
Speaking hours after Hezbollah announced its attacks on Israel with hundreds of rockets and drones, the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said the ‘main target’ was an intelligence base outside Tel Aviv, more than 100 kilometres from the Lebanese border.
Israel’s military said there were ‘no hits’ on the Glilot intelligence complex, which according to Israeli media is home to the headquarters of the Mossad spy agency.
Israeli air strikes at the same time hit more than 270 targets in Lebanon, ‘90 per cent’ of which were rockets ‘aimed at northern Israel’, the military said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet the strikes were ‘not the final word’ in the campaign against Hezbollah.
Nasrallah appeared to suggest Hezbollah’s retaliation for Shukr’s killing might be over, saying ‘if the result is satisfactory’ then its response ‘has been accomplished’.
Iranian foreign minister Nasser Kanani praised the Hezbollah attack, saying the ‘strategic balance has undergone fundamental changes’ to the detriment of Israel.
A Hamas official said that a delegation from the group met mediators in Egypt’s capital on Sunday. Israeli negotiators were also scheduled to go to Cairo.
The talks have been based on a framework laid out in late May by US president Joe Biden and a ‘bridging proposal’ Washington put forth earlier this month with support from Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
More than 10 months of war have left large parts of Gaza in ruins, ravaged its healthcare system and sparked a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of famine.
A batch of polio vaccines entered Gaza on Sunday, Israeli authorities said. UN agencies have planned a mass inoculation drive after the first case there in 25 years was confirmed.
Successive Israeli evacuation orders have forced many Gazans, most of whom have already been displaced at least once by the war, to move again.
Speaking to AFP on Sunday from her hospital bed outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tamam al-Raei said she did not know where to seek safety.
‘I have a war injury. I have broken bones and have had an amputation, and I have been receiving treatment for that,’ she said.
‘But now they’re telling us to evacuate Al-Aqsa. Where do we go? Where do I get treatment?’
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9 dead, 2,800 hurt as Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon yesterday, killing at least nine people and wounding some 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel.
9 dead, 2,800 hurt as Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese village of Taybeh on September 16, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. Photo: AFP
Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon yesterday, killing at least nine people and wounding some 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the wave of explosions, which came just hours after Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attacks to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.
The sons of Hezbollah lawmakers Ali Ammar and Hassan Fadlallah were among the dead, a source close to the group told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The blasts "killed nine people, including a girl", Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a casualty update.
He added that some "2,800 people were injured, about 200 of them critically" with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach.
The 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley when his pager exploded, the family and a source close to the group said.
Tehran's ambassador to Beirut was also wounded in a pager explosion but his injuries were not serious, Iranian state media reported.
In neighbouring Syria, 14 people were wounded "after pagers used by Hezbollah exploded", said a Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the blasts and warned it would be punished.
"We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression," the group said in a statement, adding that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression".
The United States, Israel's top arms provider and close ally, was "not involved" and "not aware of this incident in advance", said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The afternoon blasts hit Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon and dealt a heavy blow to the militant group, which already had concerns about the security of its communications after losing several key commanders to targeted air strikes in recent months.
Hezbollah had instructed its members to avoid mobile phones after the Gaza war began and to rely instead on the group's own telecommunications system to prevent Israeli breaches.
"Hundreds of Hezbollah members were injured by the simultaneous explosion of their pagers" in the group's strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs, in south Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah source said, requesting anonymity.
AFP journalists saw dozens of wounded being taken to hospital in Beirut and in the south, where dozens of ambulances rushed between the cities of Tyre and Sidon in both directions.
Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced the closure of schools and universities on Wednesday "in condemnation of the criminal act committed by the Israeli enemy".
Israel expands war aims
Earlier Tuesday, Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the war sparked by the Hamas attacks to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.
To date, Israel's objectives have been to crush Hamas and bring home the hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
"The political-security cabinet updated the goals of the war this evening, so that they include the following section: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Since October, the unabating exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
Not formally declared as a war by Israel, the exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah have killed hundreds of mostly fighters in Lebanon, and dozens on the Israeli side.
On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that failing a political solution, "military action" would be "the only way left to ensure the return of Israel's northern communities".
Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Israel's regional arch-foe Iran, claimed a dozen attacks on Israeli positions on Monday and three more on Tuesday.
Before the wave of pager explosions, Israel said it killed three Hezbollah members in a strike on Lebanon on Tuesday.
"The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas," Gallant's office quoted him as telling visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein.
Netanyahu later told Hochstein he was seeking a "fundamental change" in the security situation on Israel's northern border.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said at the weekend that his group had "no intention of going to war", but that "there will be large losses on both sides" in the event of all-out conflict.
Blinken headed back to region
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due back in the region to try to revive stalled ceasefire talks for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
After months of mediated negotiations failed to pin down a ceasefire, Washington said it was still pushing all sides to finalise an agreement.
US officials have expressed increasing frustration with Israel as Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that a deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
On Tuesday, UN member states were debating a draft resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories within 12 months.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but Israel has already denounced the new text as "disgraceful".
In Gaza, rescuers said several Israeli air strikes killed at least seven people overnight.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese village of Taybeh on September 16, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. Photo: AFP
Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon yesterday, killing at least nine people and wounding some 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the wave of explosions, which came just hours after Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attacks to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.
The sons of Hezbollah lawmakers Ali Ammar and Hassan Fadlallah were among the dead, a source close to the group told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The blasts "killed nine people, including a girl", Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a casualty update.
He added that some "2,800 people were injured, about 200 of them critically" with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach.
The 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley when his pager exploded, the family and a source close to the group said.
Tehran's ambassador to Beirut was also wounded in a pager explosion but his injuries were not serious, Iranian state media reported.
In neighbouring Syria, 14 people were wounded "after pagers used by Hezbollah exploded", said a Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the blasts and warned it would be punished.
"We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression," the group said in a statement, adding that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression".
The United States, Israel's top arms provider and close ally, was "not involved" and "not aware of this incident in advance", said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The afternoon blasts hit Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon and dealt a heavy blow to the militant group, which already had concerns about the security of its communications after losing several key commanders to targeted air strikes in recent months.
Hezbollah had instructed its members to avoid mobile phones after the Gaza war began and to rely instead on the group's own telecommunications system to prevent Israeli breaches.
"Hundreds of Hezbollah members were injured by the simultaneous explosion of their pagers" in the group's strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs, in south Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah source said, requesting anonymity.
AFP journalists saw dozens of wounded being taken to hospital in Beirut and in the south, where dozens of ambulances rushed between the cities of Tyre and Sidon in both directions.
Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced the closure of schools and universities on Wednesday "in condemnation of the criminal act committed by the Israeli enemy".
Israel expands war aims
Earlier Tuesday, Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the war sparked by the Hamas attacks to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.
To date, Israel's objectives have been to crush Hamas and bring home the hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
"The political-security cabinet updated the goals of the war this evening, so that they include the following section: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Since October, the unabating exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
Not formally declared as a war by Israel, the exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah have killed hundreds of mostly fighters in Lebanon, and dozens on the Israeli side.
On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that failing a political solution, "military action" would be "the only way left to ensure the return of Israel's northern communities".
Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Israel's regional arch-foe Iran, claimed a dozen attacks on Israeli positions on Monday and three more on Tuesday.
Before the wave of pager explosions, Israel said it killed three Hezbollah members in a strike on Lebanon on Tuesday.
"The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas," Gallant's office quoted him as telling visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein.
Netanyahu later told Hochstein he was seeking a "fundamental change" in the security situation on Israel's northern border.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said at the weekend that his group had "no intention of going to war", but that "there will be large losses on both sides" in the event of all-out conflict.
Blinken headed back to region
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due back in the region to try to revive stalled ceasefire talks for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
After months of mediated negotiations failed to pin down a ceasefire, Washington said it was still pushing all sides to finalise an agreement.
US officials have expressed increasing frustration with Israel as Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that a deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
On Tuesday, UN member states were debating a draft resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories within 12 months.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but Israel has already denounced the new text as "disgraceful".
In Gaza, rescuers said several Israeli air strikes killed at least seven people overnight.
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Israel widens focus of war to include Lebanon front
Israel announced the expansion of its war aims on Tuesday, widening its nearly year-long fight against Hamas in Gaza to focus on Hezbollah along its northern border with Lebanon...
www.newagebd.net
Israel widens focus of war to include Lebanon front
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 17 September, 2024, 23:55
Israel announced the expansion of its war aims on Tuesday, widening its nearly year-long fight against Hamas in Gaza to focus on Hezbollah along its northern border with Lebanon.
The announcement came with US secretary of state Antony Blinken due back in the region this week to try to revive stalled ceasefire talks for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Until now, Israel’s objectives have been to crush Hamas and to bring home the hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
While the focus of the war has been on Gaza, the unabating exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
‘The political-security cabinet updated the goals of the war this evening, so that they include the following section: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,’ Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement early Tuesday.
Not formally declared as a war, the exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah have killed hundreds of mostly fighters in Lebanon, and dozens of civilians and soldiers on the Israeli side.
On Monday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said ‘military action’ was the ‘only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities’.
Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Israel’s regional arch-foe Iran, claimed a dozen attacks on Israeli positions on Monday and three more on Tuesday.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday killed three people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, with Israel saying they were Hezbollah members.
‘The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas,’ Gallant was quoted as telling visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein in a statement from his office.
Netanyahu later told Hochstein he was seeking a ‘fundamental change’ in the security situation on Israel’s northern border.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said at the weekend that his group had ‘no intention of going to war’, but that ‘there will be large losses on both sides’ in the event of all-out conflict.
For now, it is unlikely Israel’s battle with Hezbollah will end.
‘Without a ceasefire in Gaza, there will be no agreement on the question of the border with Lebanon,’ said Michael Horowitz, of the Le Beck International security consultancy.
Israel’s aim in expanding the war would be to ‘create a ‘buffer zone’ in southern Lebanon’, Horowitz added.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it was readying for more war, with assistance from fighters and support from across the region.
In a letter to the group’s Yemeni allies, the Iran-backed Huthis, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar said: ‘We have prepared ourselves to fight a long war of attrition.’
‘Our combined efforts with you will break this enemy and inflict defeat on it’, Sinwar said.
While months of mediated negotiations have failed to pin down a ceasefire, the United States said it was still pushing all sides to finalise an agreement.
To bridge the remaining gaps, Washington was working ‘expeditiously’ on a new proposal, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Miller said Blinken would discuss during a visit to Egypt this week ‘on-going efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security’.
US officials have increasingly expressed their frustrations with Israel as Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that the deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
Mounting pressure has failed to sway him to agree to a hostage release deal that has wide support from the Israeli public.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
On Tuesday, UN member states will debate a draft resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories within 12 months.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but Israel has already denounced the new text as ‘disgraceful’.
In Gaza, rescuers said several Israeli air strikes killed at least seven people overnight.
‘This war has left nothing untouched and has killed everything in us, our mental and physical health, our social fabric, our future and our dreams,’ Ola Halilo, a 32-year-old Gazan woman living in a makeshift displacement camp.
‘It has separated us from our loved ones, destroyed everything that was beautiful in our lives.’
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 17 September, 2024, 23:55
Israel announced the expansion of its war aims on Tuesday, widening its nearly year-long fight against Hamas in Gaza to focus on Hezbollah along its northern border with Lebanon.
The announcement came with US secretary of state Antony Blinken due back in the region this week to try to revive stalled ceasefire talks for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Until now, Israel’s objectives have been to crush Hamas and to bring home the hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
While the focus of the war has been on Gaza, the unabating exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
‘The political-security cabinet updated the goals of the war this evening, so that they include the following section: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,’ Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement early Tuesday.
Not formally declared as a war, the exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah have killed hundreds of mostly fighters in Lebanon, and dozens of civilians and soldiers on the Israeli side.
On Monday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said ‘military action’ was the ‘only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities’.
Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Israel’s regional arch-foe Iran, claimed a dozen attacks on Israeli positions on Monday and three more on Tuesday.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday killed three people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, with Israel saying they were Hezbollah members.
‘The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas,’ Gallant was quoted as telling visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein in a statement from his office.
Netanyahu later told Hochstein he was seeking a ‘fundamental change’ in the security situation on Israel’s northern border.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said at the weekend that his group had ‘no intention of going to war’, but that ‘there will be large losses on both sides’ in the event of all-out conflict.
For now, it is unlikely Israel’s battle with Hezbollah will end.
‘Without a ceasefire in Gaza, there will be no agreement on the question of the border with Lebanon,’ said Michael Horowitz, of the Le Beck International security consultancy.
Israel’s aim in expanding the war would be to ‘create a ‘buffer zone’ in southern Lebanon’, Horowitz added.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it was readying for more war, with assistance from fighters and support from across the region.
In a letter to the group’s Yemeni allies, the Iran-backed Huthis, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar said: ‘We have prepared ourselves to fight a long war of attrition.’
‘Our combined efforts with you will break this enemy and inflict defeat on it’, Sinwar said.
While months of mediated negotiations have failed to pin down a ceasefire, the United States said it was still pushing all sides to finalise an agreement.
To bridge the remaining gaps, Washington was working ‘expeditiously’ on a new proposal, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Miller said Blinken would discuss during a visit to Egypt this week ‘on-going efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security’.
US officials have increasingly expressed their frustrations with Israel as Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that the deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
Mounting pressure has failed to sway him to agree to a hostage release deal that has wide support from the Israeli public.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,252 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
On Tuesday, UN member states will debate a draft resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories within 12 months.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but Israel has already denounced the new text as ‘disgraceful’.
In Gaza, rescuers said several Israeli air strikes killed at least seven people overnight.
‘This war has left nothing untouched and has killed everything in us, our mental and physical health, our social fabric, our future and our dreams,’ Ola Halilo, a 32-year-old Gazan woman living in a makeshift displacement camp.
‘It has separated us from our loved ones, destroyed everything that was beautiful in our lives.’
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Initial probe shows Lebanon pagers booby-trapped: security source
A preliminary investigation has found hundreds of pagers that exploded across Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and wounding up to 2,800, had been booby-trapped, a security official said on Wednesday
Initial probe shows Lebanon pagers booby-trapped: security source
Photo: AFP
A preliminary investigation has found hundreds of pagers that exploded across Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and wounding up to 2,800, had been booby-trapped, a security official said on Wednesday.
Lebanon opened a probe into the explosions on Tuesday, a judicial official said, adding security services were working to determine the cause of the blasts which have been blamed on Israel.
On Wednesday, a new wave of exploding hand-held devices, this time walkie-talkies, killed nine people and wounded more than 300 wounded across Lebanon, the health ministry said.
"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," the official said about Tuesday's blasts, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Some of the devices that exploded were being inspected, the security official said, but "most of them were destroyed and burned".
The official said it was unlikely the lithium batteries inside the devices had heated up and exploded.
"Exploding lithium batteries cause a fire-like incident... that may cause minor burns, but the blast from these devices resulted from highly explosive materials," he told AFP.
Photo: AFP
A preliminary investigation has found hundreds of pagers that exploded across Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and wounding up to 2,800, had been booby-trapped, a security official said on Wednesday.
Lebanon opened a probe into the explosions on Tuesday, a judicial official said, adding security services were working to determine the cause of the blasts which have been blamed on Israel.
On Wednesday, a new wave of exploding hand-held devices, this time walkie-talkies, killed nine people and wounded more than 300 wounded across Lebanon, the health ministry said.
"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," the official said about Tuesday's blasts, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Some of the devices that exploded were being inspected, the security official said, but "most of them were destroyed and burned".
The official said it was unlikely the lithium batteries inside the devices had heated up and exploded.
"Exploding lithium batteries cause a fire-like incident... that may cause minor burns, but the blast from these devices resulted from highly explosive materials," he told AFP.
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Israel's attack in Lebanon: Can it lead to an all-out war?
Nasrallah and Hezbollah have thrived with an image of invincibility after confronting Israel in 2006.
Israel's attack in Lebanon: Can it lead to an all-out war?
People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center as more than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when pagers exploded across Lebanon. PHOTO: REUTERS
For months, Israel and Lebanon—particularly Hezbollah, Iran's powerful proxy in the nation—have been engaging in tit-for-tat attacks. At some points, such as when Hezbollah's senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut in late July, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran around the same time, it seemed as if a shadow war was on the brink of erupting into an expanded conflict. Since Tuesday, that fear is now closer, when hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing more than a dozen people and injuring thousands. The next day, more explosions of electronic devices, including walkie talkies, laptops and radios, killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds, according to Al Jazeera. A Hezbollah official has referred to the ominous, action thriller movie-like attack tactics as the "biggest security breach" that the group has faced since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza post-October 7 attacks, after which cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have become near-daily occurrences.
The attacks, where objects used by civilians were rigged, has led experts to interpret a weakness of Hezbollah's defense apparatus to Israeli cyber warriors and Israeli infiltration. Videos have since emerged of Hezbollah fighters blown to the floor by their own communication equipment. It is probable that Israel strategically attacked to disrupt the command centre of Hezbollah. Targeting thousands of people, breaching security, without knowledge of who held the devices or where they were located violates international law, as United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday, but such is hardly ever a consideration for today's Israel.
Though Israel has not claimed responsibility, it does not simply need to spell it out. Beyond official statements, attacks of such sophistication in Lebanon would only be carried out by Israel's Mossad, to send a tough message to Hezbollah: we can invade your space. It's the kind of political warfare that Netanyahu—who recently faced the largest protests in the history of Israel with his citizens calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal—would wage, to start a wider military war. And to make it more obvious, Netanyahu announced the same day of the attacks, that Israel's war aims have expanded to include displaced Israelis. The statement and decision, also came a day after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told the visiting US envoy that "military action" is the "only way left to ensure the return of Israeli northern communities." After almost a year, the northern Israeli residents have been added to an "updated" plan of the war. On Wednesday, Gallant said, "We are at the start of a new phase in the war...the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces."
First and foremost, the question is why now? Politically, Israel is continuing its operations in Gaza, while its climate in the home front is in ruins—Netanyahu's pressure to resign has been at an all-time high. The current cabinet's relationship with the Biden administration is on eggshells; despite all the pro-Israel rhetoric, Biden said earlier this month that Netanyahu has not done enough to bring the hostages back. On the other hand, the timing of attack could also be that the covert operation needed to happen before Hezbollah or Iran got wind of it. Whatever the reason, these attacks, just a grim three weeks shy of one year of Hamas' attacks and Israel's genocide in Gaza—can have grave implications which will be seen in the days to come.
Hezbollah has now promised to retaliate but this promise now holds more weight as chief Hassan Nasrallah now faces pressure within the group to respond to these attacks. There's an important context to such pressure. Nasrallah and Hezbollah have thrived with an image of invincibility after confronting Israel in 2006, when their commandos launched a cross-border raid on an Israeli armoured patrol, killing two IDF soldiers and taking two hostages. It spiralled into a costly war, especially for Lebanese citizens, 1,200 of whom were approximately killed. More than 100 IDF soldiers were killed, while 43 Israeli civilians died in rocket attacks carried out by Lebanon. Both sides had declared victory, but victory was not defined in the number of killings but rather that Israel failed to achieve its strategic objectives, including retrieving the two hostages alive. Since then, Hezbollah has only been emboldened in the region with its military prowess—with advanced weaponry, more armed personnel, and political legitimacy beyond Lebanon.
The attacks in fact do threaten a wider conflict, and it's the first of covert, sinister rather surprise attacks by Israelis infiltrating Hezbollah. They underscore the capabilities of the Israeli intelligence, and signal further to Hezbollah, that Netanyahu's Israel could also have more sadistic surprises planned. But as coordinated as they may be, Israel knows Hezbollah is, without question, one of the most well-trained and resourced non-state stores in global politics with an arsenal upwards of 150,000 rockets and precision-guided munitions. According to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Israel is pushing the entire region towards the abyss of regional war, which would have "drastic ramifications not only for the region, but for the world."
It must also be noted that the attack happened on Tuesday as Blinken arrived in Egypt, yet again, to discuss another ceasefire deal in Gaza. Diplomatic talks have continued for nearly a year, and proved nothing but futile. These attacks have unquestionably put the ceasefire talks on ice, and if it wasn't clear before, Netanyahu has no interest in bringing back the hostages, over a wider war. Israel's objective to "defeat Hamas," as they say, still hangs in the air. Engaging in an existential fight with Hezbollah would not be the same as carpet bombing a strip, and killing civilians at historic pace. Hezbollah is no easy opponent, and a full scale war would also harm Israeli cities and Israeli civilians.
And the implications of an all-out war are far-reaching to the larger countries covertly or overtly involved in the conflict. In other words, once again, Israel is bringing Iran and the US closer to a confrontation. Ahead of a high-stakes US presidential election, a regional war with Iran no less, would likely hurt the prospects of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris who has been part of the Biden administration, which stands accused of complicity in the Gaza genocide. The Harris campaign has stressed on the need for a ceasefire, which, after these attacks will definitely not happen before the elections. The Biden administration will be in a more precarious position, as will the Harris campaign. They cannot sanction Israel were it to start a war with Hezbollah before November, as that would alienate Zionist voters. On the other hand, inaction and tepid diplomacy will show their continuous incompetency in foreign policy and the lack of a ceasefire will continue to alienate Arab and young pro-Palestinian voters. Domestically, Israel's war with Lebanon is far from US interest at the moment.
Some US experts on the other hand feel that Israel is falling into Khamenei and Nasrallah's trap. Since Haniyeh's death, Iran has vowed to retaliate but there has been no action yet. Iran has been restrained, yet ominous, in playing with fire. One of the reasons, which have been clear, is that they too don't want an all-out war which would also involve the US. But their desire to restrain from doing so now remains contested after the death of Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr. Iran and Hezbollah play the opposition with attrition. The opposition here, Netanyahu's Israeli cabinet, is driven with short-term impulsive strategies with no long-term goal that can be gleaned, from its actions in Gaza, its actions in the northern border with Lebanon, and recently, its attacks in the West Bank. Collectively, Israel is engaged in doing everything that would give Iran the political upper hand to justify a large retaliation, even if it may come late, and that would be disastrous for Israel itself and its allies as well.
As such, the onus is on the US, the "superpower" and the Arab states that have altogether failed to control the conflagrations in the Middle East, to make Israel stop and figure out a strategy to end the cycle of locking heads with Iran. Diplomacy efforts a little too late can be costly, as has been shown by the genocide in Gaza, which has left the world in tatters. Israel needs its most powerful ally to slam the brakes—whether it be internally—because as recent history has shown, stopping the train after it has left the station does not work with Netanyahu's government.
Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.
People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center as more than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when pagers exploded across Lebanon. PHOTO: REUTERS
For months, Israel and Lebanon—particularly Hezbollah, Iran's powerful proxy in the nation—have been engaging in tit-for-tat attacks. At some points, such as when Hezbollah's senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut in late July, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran around the same time, it seemed as if a shadow war was on the brink of erupting into an expanded conflict. Since Tuesday, that fear is now closer, when hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing more than a dozen people and injuring thousands. The next day, more explosions of electronic devices, including walkie talkies, laptops and radios, killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds, according to Al Jazeera. A Hezbollah official has referred to the ominous, action thriller movie-like attack tactics as the "biggest security breach" that the group has faced since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza post-October 7 attacks, after which cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have become near-daily occurrences.
The attacks, where objects used by civilians were rigged, has led experts to interpret a weakness of Hezbollah's defense apparatus to Israeli cyber warriors and Israeli infiltration. Videos have since emerged of Hezbollah fighters blown to the floor by their own communication equipment. It is probable that Israel strategically attacked to disrupt the command centre of Hezbollah. Targeting thousands of people, breaching security, without knowledge of who held the devices or where they were located violates international law, as United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday, but such is hardly ever a consideration for today's Israel.
Though Israel has not claimed responsibility, it does not simply need to spell it out. Beyond official statements, attacks of such sophistication in Lebanon would only be carried out by Israel's Mossad, to send a tough message to Hezbollah: we can invade your space. It's the kind of political warfare that Netanyahu—who recently faced the largest protests in the history of Israel with his citizens calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal—would wage, to start a wider military war. And to make it more obvious, Netanyahu announced the same day of the attacks, that Israel's war aims have expanded to include displaced Israelis. The statement and decision, also came a day after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told the visiting US envoy that "military action" is the "only way left to ensure the return of Israeli northern communities." After almost a year, the northern Israeli residents have been added to an "updated" plan of the war. On Wednesday, Gallant said, "We are at the start of a new phase in the war...the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces."
First and foremost, the question is why now? Politically, Israel is continuing its operations in Gaza, while its climate in the home front is in ruins—Netanyahu's pressure to resign has been at an all-time high. The current cabinet's relationship with the Biden administration is on eggshells; despite all the pro-Israel rhetoric, Biden said earlier this month that Netanyahu has not done enough to bring the hostages back. On the other hand, the timing of attack could also be that the covert operation needed to happen before Hezbollah or Iran got wind of it. Whatever the reason, these attacks, just a grim three weeks shy of one year of Hamas' attacks and Israel's genocide in Gaza—can have grave implications which will be seen in the days to come.
Hezbollah has now promised to retaliate but this promise now holds more weight as chief Hassan Nasrallah now faces pressure within the group to respond to these attacks. There's an important context to such pressure. Nasrallah and Hezbollah have thrived with an image of invincibility after confronting Israel in 2006, when their commandos launched a cross-border raid on an Israeli armoured patrol, killing two IDF soldiers and taking two hostages. It spiralled into a costly war, especially for Lebanese citizens, 1,200 of whom were approximately killed. More than 100 IDF soldiers were killed, while 43 Israeli civilians died in rocket attacks carried out by Lebanon. Both sides had declared victory, but victory was not defined in the number of killings but rather that Israel failed to achieve its strategic objectives, including retrieving the two hostages alive. Since then, Hezbollah has only been emboldened in the region with its military prowess—with advanced weaponry, more armed personnel, and political legitimacy beyond Lebanon.
The attacks in fact do threaten a wider conflict, and it's the first of covert, sinister rather surprise attacks by Israelis infiltrating Hezbollah. They underscore the capabilities of the Israeli intelligence, and signal further to Hezbollah, that Netanyahu's Israel could also have more sadistic surprises planned. But as coordinated as they may be, Israel knows Hezbollah is, without question, one of the most well-trained and resourced non-state stores in global politics with an arsenal upwards of 150,000 rockets and precision-guided munitions. According to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Israel is pushing the entire region towards the abyss of regional war, which would have "drastic ramifications not only for the region, but for the world."
It must also be noted that the attack happened on Tuesday as Blinken arrived in Egypt, yet again, to discuss another ceasefire deal in Gaza. Diplomatic talks have continued for nearly a year, and proved nothing but futile. These attacks have unquestionably put the ceasefire talks on ice, and if it wasn't clear before, Netanyahu has no interest in bringing back the hostages, over a wider war. Israel's objective to "defeat Hamas," as they say, still hangs in the air. Engaging in an existential fight with Hezbollah would not be the same as carpet bombing a strip, and killing civilians at historic pace. Hezbollah is no easy opponent, and a full scale war would also harm Israeli cities and Israeli civilians.
And the implications of an all-out war are far-reaching to the larger countries covertly or overtly involved in the conflict. In other words, once again, Israel is bringing Iran and the US closer to a confrontation. Ahead of a high-stakes US presidential election, a regional war with Iran no less, would likely hurt the prospects of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris who has been part of the Biden administration, which stands accused of complicity in the Gaza genocide. The Harris campaign has stressed on the need for a ceasefire, which, after these attacks will definitely not happen before the elections. The Biden administration will be in a more precarious position, as will the Harris campaign. They cannot sanction Israel were it to start a war with Hezbollah before November, as that would alienate Zionist voters. On the other hand, inaction and tepid diplomacy will show their continuous incompetency in foreign policy and the lack of a ceasefire will continue to alienate Arab and young pro-Palestinian voters. Domestically, Israel's war with Lebanon is far from US interest at the moment.
Some US experts on the other hand feel that Israel is falling into Khamenei and Nasrallah's trap. Since Haniyeh's death, Iran has vowed to retaliate but there has been no action yet. Iran has been restrained, yet ominous, in playing with fire. One of the reasons, which have been clear, is that they too don't want an all-out war which would also involve the US. But their desire to restrain from doing so now remains contested after the death of Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr. Iran and Hezbollah play the opposition with attrition. The opposition here, Netanyahu's Israeli cabinet, is driven with short-term impulsive strategies with no long-term goal that can be gleaned, from its actions in Gaza, its actions in the northern border with Lebanon, and recently, its attacks in the West Bank. Collectively, Israel is engaged in doing everything that would give Iran the political upper hand to justify a large retaliation, even if it may come late, and that would be disastrous for Israel itself and its allies as well.
As such, the onus is on the US, the "superpower" and the Arab states that have altogether failed to control the conflagrations in the Middle East, to make Israel stop and figure out a strategy to end the cycle of locking heads with Iran. Diplomacy efforts a little too late can be costly, as has been shown by the genocide in Gaza, which has left the world in tatters. Israel needs its most powerful ally to slam the brakes—whether it be internally—because as recent history has shown, stopping the train after it has left the station does not work with Netanyahu's government.
Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.
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Israel’s Unit 8200 in spotlight
The mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon has turned the spotlight on Israel’s secretive Unit 8200, the Israel Defense Forces’ intelligence unit, which a Western security source said was involved in planning the operation.
Lebanon PAGER ATTACKS
Israel’s Unit 8200 in spotlight
Lebanese army members prepare to carry out a controlled explosion of a battery of a communications device in the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon yesterday. Photo: REUTERS
The mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon has turned the spotlight on Israel's secretive Unit 8200, the Israel Defense Forces' intelligence unit, which a Western security source said was involved in planning the operation.
Israeli officials remained silent on the intelligence operation that killed 12 people on Tuesday and wounded thousands of Hezbollah operatives. At least 20 people was killed on Wednesday when hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated.
A senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters that Israel's Mossad spy agency was responsible for a sophisticated operation to plant a small quantity of explosives inside 5,000 pagers ordered by Hezbollah.
One Western security source told Reuters that Unit 8200, a military unit that is not part of the spy agency, was involved in the development stage of the operation against Hezbollah which was over a year in the making.
Israel’s Unit 8200 in spotlight
Lebanese army members prepare to carry out a controlled explosion of a battery of a communications device in the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon yesterday. Photo: REUTERS
The mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon has turned the spotlight on Israel's secretive Unit 8200, the Israel Defense Forces' intelligence unit, which a Western security source said was involved in planning the operation.
Israeli officials remained silent on the intelligence operation that killed 12 people on Tuesday and wounded thousands of Hezbollah operatives. At least 20 people was killed on Wednesday when hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated.
A senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters that Israel's Mossad spy agency was responsible for a sophisticated operation to plant a small quantity of explosives inside 5,000 pagers ordered by Hezbollah.
One Western security source told Reuters that Unit 8200, a military unit that is not part of the spy agency, was involved in the development stage of the operation against Hezbollah which was over a year in the making.
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Israel kills top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut yesterday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
Israel kills top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike
Lebanon’s health ministry says 11 more people killed, 66 hurt
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut yesterday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
The Israeli military and a security source in Lebanon said Ibrahim Aqil had been killed along with other senior members of an elite Hezbollah unit in the airstrike, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group, reports Reuters.
Lebanon’s health ministry says 11 more people killed, 66 hurt
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut yesterday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
The Israeli military and a security source in Lebanon said Ibrahim Aqil had been killed along with other senior members of an elite Hezbollah unit in the airstrike, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group, reports Reuters.
- Israeli strike, Hezbollah attack reported at Lebanon border
- UN peacekeepers call for immediate de-escalation
- 14 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza
The Israeli military described Aqil as the acting commander of the Radwan special forces unit, and said it had killed him along with around 10 other senior commanders as they held a meeting. Aqil sat on Hezbollah's top military council, sources in Lebanon told Reuters.
The strike inflicted another blow on Hezbollah after two days of attacks on the group in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. Those attacks were widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed or denied its involvement.
Lebanon's health ministry said Friday's strike killed 12 people and wounded 66 others, nine of whom were in critical condition. Rescue teams were searching for people under the rubble of two buildings, the country's civil defence service said.
On Thursday night, Israeli fighter jets pounded Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, destroying 1,000 rocket launcher barrels that were set to be used to immediately fire toward Israeli territory, the military said.
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon urged immediate de-escalation.
Hezbollah said its fighters had fired a guided missile at Israeli troops in Metula, an Israeli town on the border targeted frequently by the Lebanese group over the last year.
Israeli radio reported that residents of several towns in northern Israel were instructed by the military's Homefront Command to stay close to their shelters.
Meanwhile, some Palestinians displaced by the Israeli assault on Gaza said they feared their temporary beachside camp would be inundated by high waves.
Palestinian health officials said shelling by Israeli tanks killed eight people and wounded several others in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and six others were killed in an airstrike on a house in Gaza City.
In the northern town of Beit Hanoun, an Israeli strike on a car killed and wounded several Palestinians, medics said. It was not clear how many of the casualties were combatants and how many were civilians.
In the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli army has been operating since May, tanks advanced further to the northwest area backed by aircraft, residents said.
They also reported heavy fire and explosions echoing in the eastern areas of the city, where Israeli forces blew up several houses, according to residents and Hamas media.
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Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
Hezbollah was in disarray on Thursday after a second wave of deadly explosions swept through its strongholds across Lebanon, putting pressure on its leader to exact revenge for the operation it blames on Israel.
en.prothomalo.com
Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
AFP
Beirut
Published: 19 Sep 2024, 17: 33
Lebanese Hezbollah members carry the coffin of their killed comrade Hussein Amhaz during his funeral in Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on 19 September, 2024. Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon in unprecedented attacks that spanned two days, killing 32 people and wounding more than 3,000 others. AFP
Hezbollah was in disarray on Thursday after a second wave of deadly explosions swept through its strongholds across Lebanon, putting pressure on its leader to exact revenge for the operation it blames on Israel.
The attack killed 32 people in two days, including two children, and wounded more than 3,000 others, according to Lebanese health ministry figures.
Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation that saw Hezbollah operatives' walkie-talkies and pagers exploding in supermarkets, at funerals and on streets.
But its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Wednesday, in reference to Israel's border with Lebanon: "The centre of gravity is moving northward."
"We are at the start of a new phase in the war", he said.
Hezbollah is an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting a war in Gaza since its 7 October attack on Israel.
For nearly a year, the focus of Israel's firepower has been on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
But its troops have also been engaged in near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants along its northern border, killing hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens more in Israel.
The exchanges of fire have also forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
Gallant said earlier this month that Hamas as a military formation "no longer exists".
Reeling from the operation that targeted its communication system, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said Israel was "fully responsible for this criminal aggression" and vowed revenge.
Hezbollah on Thursday said 20 of its members had been killed, with a source close to the group saying they had died when their walkie-talkies had exploded a day earlier.
At 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will give a previously unscheduled televised speech that will be watched closely by both his supporters and his enemies for any signals of what shape a response might take.
'Wider war'
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the "blatant assault on Lebanon's sovereignty and security" was a dangerous development that could "signal a wider war".
Iran's envoy to the UN said the country "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures" after its ambassador in Beirut was wounded in the blasts.
The White House, which is pressing to salvage efforts for an elusive ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, warned all sides against "an escalation of any kind".
"We don't believe that the way to solve where we're at in this crisis is by additional military operations at all," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The 7 October attacks that sparked the war in Gaza resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Out of 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
In Gaza on Wednesday, the civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter killed five people, while the Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants.
In Lebanon, the influx of so many casualties following the blasts overwhelmed medics.
At a Beirut hospital, doctor Joelle Khadra said "the injuries were mainly to the eyes and hands, with finger amputations, shrapnel in the eyes -- some people lost their sight."
A doctor at another hospital in the Lebanese capital said he had worked through the night and that the injuries were "out of this world -- never seen anything like it".
'Sabotaged at source'
Analysts said operatives had likely planted explosives on the pagers before they were delivered to Hezbollah.
The preliminary findings of a Lebanese investigation found the pagers had been booby-trapped, a security official said.
"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
A source close to Hezbollah, asking not to be identified, said the pagers were "recently imported" and appeared to have been "sabotaged at source".
After The New York Times reported that the pagers that exploded on Wednesday had been ordered from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, the company said they had been produced by its Hungarian partner BAC Consulting KFT.
A government spokesman in Budapest said the company was "a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary".
Japanese firm Icom said that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in Wednesday's blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.
AFP
Beirut
Published: 19 Sep 2024, 17: 33
Lebanese Hezbollah members carry the coffin of their killed comrade Hussein Amhaz during his funeral in Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on 19 September, 2024. Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon in unprecedented attacks that spanned two days, killing 32 people and wounding more than 3,000 others. AFP
Hezbollah was in disarray on Thursday after a second wave of deadly explosions swept through its strongholds across Lebanon, putting pressure on its leader to exact revenge for the operation it blames on Israel.
The attack killed 32 people in two days, including two children, and wounded more than 3,000 others, according to Lebanese health ministry figures.
Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation that saw Hezbollah operatives' walkie-talkies and pagers exploding in supermarkets, at funerals and on streets.
But its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Wednesday, in reference to Israel's border with Lebanon: "The centre of gravity is moving northward."
"We are at the start of a new phase in the war", he said.
Hezbollah is an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting a war in Gaza since its 7 October attack on Israel.
For nearly a year, the focus of Israel's firepower has been on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
But its troops have also been engaged in near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants along its northern border, killing hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens more in Israel.
The exchanges of fire have also forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.
Gallant said earlier this month that Hamas as a military formation "no longer exists".
Reeling from the operation that targeted its communication system, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said Israel was "fully responsible for this criminal aggression" and vowed revenge.
Hezbollah on Thursday said 20 of its members had been killed, with a source close to the group saying they had died when their walkie-talkies had exploded a day earlier.
At 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will give a previously unscheduled televised speech that will be watched closely by both his supporters and his enemies for any signals of what shape a response might take.
'Wider war'
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the "blatant assault on Lebanon's sovereignty and security" was a dangerous development that could "signal a wider war".
Iran's envoy to the UN said the country "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures" after its ambassador in Beirut was wounded in the blasts.
The White House, which is pressing to salvage efforts for an elusive ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, warned all sides against "an escalation of any kind".
"We don't believe that the way to solve where we're at in this crisis is by additional military operations at all," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The 7 October attacks that sparked the war in Gaza resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Out of 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
In Gaza on Wednesday, the civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter killed five people, while the Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants.
In Lebanon, the influx of so many casualties following the blasts overwhelmed medics.
At a Beirut hospital, doctor Joelle Khadra said "the injuries were mainly to the eyes and hands, with finger amputations, shrapnel in the eyes -- some people lost their sight."
A doctor at another hospital in the Lebanese capital said he had worked through the night and that the injuries were "out of this world -- never seen anything like it".
'Sabotaged at source'
Analysts said operatives had likely planted explosives on the pagers before they were delivered to Hezbollah.
The preliminary findings of a Lebanese investigation found the pagers had been booby-trapped, a security official said.
"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
A source close to Hezbollah, asking not to be identified, said the pagers were "recently imported" and appeared to have been "sabotaged at source".
After The New York Times reported that the pagers that exploded on Wednesday had been ordered from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, the company said they had been produced by its Hungarian partner BAC Consulting KFT.
A government spokesman in Budapest said the company was "a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary".
Japanese firm Icom said that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in Wednesday's blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.
