International
Israeli military announces first combat death after hitting Lebanon
Israeli military announces first combat death after hitting Lebanon
BEIRUT: The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this week.
The military said Wednesday that a 22-year-old in a commando brigade was killed in combat in Lebanon.
Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israel began pushing into its northern neighbor in a campaign to hammer the Iran-backed armed group.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Israel was attacked by Iran in a strike that raised fears the oil-producing Middle East could be engulfed in a wider conflict.
An Israeli team commander was killed in Lebanon, the Israeli military said.
Iran said on Wednesday the attack — its biggest assault on Israel — was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back.
The violence, meanwhile, continued on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Hezbollah said it was clashing with Israeli troops in the border town of Maroun el-Ras after it had pushed back forces near another border town. The group said it had also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.
The group’s media chief Mohammad Afif said those battles were only “the first round” and that the group had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israel.
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There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Israel’s addition of infantry and armored troops from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armored Brigade and 6th Infantry Brigade, suggests that the operation may move beyond limited commando raids.
The military has said its incursion is largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon.
Nevertheless it issued new evacuation orders for around two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing inhabitants to head north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km (37 miles) north of the Israeli border.
Border clashes
Despite calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah has continued.
Israel renewed its bombardment early on Wednesday of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group, with more than a dozen airstrikes against what it said were targets belonging to Hezbollah.
Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with the most in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics. More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Malika Joumaa, from Sudan, was forced to take shelter in Saint Joseph’s church in Beirut after being forced from her house near Sidon with her husband and two children.
“It’s good that the church offered its help. We were going to stay in the streets, where would we have gone? We were (sheltering) under the bridge, it is not safe, if we go back home, it is not safe, they are striking everywhere.”
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The Islamic Republic described Tuesday’s assault as a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and attacks in Lebanon against the group and in Gaza.
Iran’s ally, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31. The attack was widely blamed on Israel, which has not claimed responsibility
Like a similar attack in April, the latest strikes caused minimal damage. One Palestinian was killed.
The general staff of Iran’s armed forces said any Israeli response would be met with “vast destruction” of the latter’s infrastructure.
US news website Axios reported that a retaliation within days that could target oil production facilities inside Iran and other strategic sites.
On social media, Iranians were apprehensive about Israeli retaliation and said past wars, such as the eight-year conflict with Iraq in the 1980s that killed about one million people, would only bring more suffering.
Fears of further violence
“The destruction of generations, young people being cannon fodder, the enrichment of generals and elites, and the empowerment of extremists? Leaders will not pay for dragging Iran into war,” said Nima Mokhtarian, who works at an NGO.
Iran’s missile strikes and Israel’s operations in Lebanon have caused alarm around the world, as Tehran’s Middle East proxies — Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq — show no let up in attacks in support of Hamas.
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“It’s time for the entire axis to enter the battle, from Iran to Iraq to Yemen to Syria to Lebanon to Gaza, it’s time. Because it’s clear that nothing can stop Israel, not international laws,” said Lebanese resident Amal.
Israel’s foreign minister said that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
Airlines around the world have canceled flights to Israel and Lebanon in the wake of the escalating conflict, with many saying they won’t resume until at least mid-October, depending on the security situation.
China called on global powers to play a constructive role to avoid escalation, while Saudi Arabia is hoping for de-escalation and dialogue, Economy Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim said.
Egypt condemned what it called a dangerous Israeli escalation in Lebanon and rejected any attempts to impose a “new situation” on the ground that violates Lebanese sovereignty.
Washington said it would work with longtime ally Israel to ensure Iran faced “severe consequences” for Tuesday’s attack, which Israel said involved more than 180 ballistic missiles.
Israel activated air defenses against Iran’s bombardment on Tuesday and most missiles were intercepted “by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States,” Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video on X.
Israeli military announces first combat death after hitting Lebanon
ARAB NEWS
International
Israeli airstrike cuts off road linking Lebanon, Syria
Israeli airstrike cuts off road linking Lebanon, Syria
Lebanon said an Israeli air strike on the Syrian border on Friday cut off the main international road linking the two countries.
Coastal Lebanon shares a border with Israel, with which Hezbollah is at war, and Syria, where tens of thousands of people have taken refuge from the violence engulfing the country.
Israel has said Hezbollah uses the road to bring weapons across the border from Syria, with which it is allied.
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“The road that leads to the main humanitarian crossing for thousands of Lebanese into Syria is now cut off after an Israeli strike,” Transport Minister Ali Hamieh told AFP.
The official National News Agency also reported the strike, saying that “enemy warplanes hit the Masnaa area”, as the crossing is known, “cutting off the road”.
Israeli airstrike cuts off road linking Lebanon, Syria
International
Hunger protests: Russia accuses US, UK of ruining its relations with Nigeria
Hunger protests: Russia accuses US, UK of ruining its relations with Nigeria
The Russian government says the western countries are trying to destroy its relationship with Nigeria by linking the country with the recent hungry protests.
This is contained in a letter from the Russian government to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs obtained on Friday.
Yury Paramonov, official Press Secretary of the Russian embassy in Nigeria, released the document.
Recall that during the August 1-10 nationwide protests, some protesters were seen waving Russian flag and chanting slogans, while others held placards with various messages during the protest.
Russia, a global power, was also accused of involvement in political upheavals in several West African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
This has sparked concerns about external interference in regional affairs.
But Russia claimed that the United States, Britain and Ukraine were linking it with the protests to destroy the cordial relationship between it and Nigeria, advising the Federal Government to ignore the claims.
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The letter read in part, “In particular, statements by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Director of the British Council in Nigeria David Roberts, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Nigeria Ivan Kholostenko have shamelessly and baselessly suggested that the use of Russian flags during recent protests is evidence of Russia’s interference and have further warned that this could happen again in the future.”
“The Embassy categorically rejects such accusations and reiterates that the Russian Federation neither had any involvement in the protests that occurred in the recent past, nor does it have any connection to any potential future demonstrations or unrest.
“Russia has always respected the sovereignty of Nigeria. We strictly adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of independent states.
“By contrast, the coordinated media campaign by Western and Ukrainian officials and outlets clearly points to their attempts to meddle in Nigeria’s internal affairs and shift the blame for any consequences onto the Russian Federation.
“We greatly value the level of relations between our two countries, support only peaceful dialogue within the legal framework as the proper means to resolve any internal disputes, and once again express our unwavering support for the leadership and the people of Nigeria.”
Yuri said the Embassy had conveyed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion of Nigeria’s National Day.
“The Embassy also extends its best wishes to the people and Government of Nigeria for prosperity and stability, and we hope for continued cooperation and deepening relations between our two countries,” he said.
Hunger protests: Russia accuses US, UK of ruining its relations with Nigeria
International
Haiti gang attack leaves at least 20 dead
Haiti gang attack leaves at least 20 dead
At least 20 people including children have been killed after an armed gang attacked a small town in Haiti.
Another 50 were wounded as Gran Grif gang members rampaged through Pont-Sondé in the central Artibonite region about 71km (44 miles) north-west of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Video footage shows groups of people fleeing the violence on motorbikes and on foot. A government prosecutor described the attack as “a massacre”, reported the Associated Press.
Armed gangs have taken control of large parts of Haiti and a UN-backed policing mission, led by officers from Kenya, began in June in an attempt to wrestle back control.
The exact number of dead from the attack is not clear – local media reported that more than 50 had been killed, while a Haitian human rights group put the figure at 20 or more, AP said.
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Gran Grif is said to be one of the most violent of Haiti’s gangs. In January 2023 its members were accused of attacking a police station near Port-Sondé and killing six officers. It is also blamed for forcing the closure of a hospital serving more than 700,000 people.
The gang has about 100 members and has been accused of crimes including murder, rape, robberies and kidnappings, according to a UN report cited by AP. Both its founder and current leader are subject to US sanctions.
Thursday’s gang rampage comes almost a month after the Haitian authorities expanded a state of emergency to cover the whole of the country.
Prime Minister Garry Conille has vowed to crack down on the gangs, with the UN saying a “robust use of force” is needed.
It has approved the policing mission made up of 2,500 officers from various countries – including 1,000 pledged by Kenya.
Their deployment has been authorised for one year, with a review to be held after nine months.
Haiti gang attack leaves at least 20 dead
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