International
Hezbollah enters new phase in war as Netanyahu insists on dismantling its structure
Hezbollah enters new phase in war as Netanyahu insists on dismantling its structure
BEIRUT: Hezbollah confirmed that it has “no option in Lebanon except for the realities imposed by its members in the field, and anything else is betting on an illusion.”
MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said in a press conference that “Israel’s war on Hezbollah aims to eliminate the resistance, wipe it out from the region, and subjugate Lebanon.”
He said that the enemy “has been planning this war for years and has adopted a scorched-earth policy along the borders, attempting to create a buffer zone to annex the area south of the Litani, which the resistance will thwart.”
Fadlallah said that the party “has entered a new phase of resisting aggression. We are operating on three fronts, the first being in the field, and so far, the enemy has not managed to take control of or settle in any village. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati are negotiating with international envoys to reach a ceasefire, and we are closely following this matter with Berri.”
Fadlallah refused to confirm or deny reports circulating in the south about Hezbollah capturing Israeli soldiers. He simply said: “If any Israeli soldier is captured, the resistance will announce it through its statements.”
On Thursday, the sounds of airstrikes and artillery fire drowned out any diplomatic talk paving the way for a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his escalatory stance, stating Israel’s intent to “destroy all of Hezbollah’s military structure, which has been built over two decades,” and that his goal “in Lebanon is to return the northern residents to their homes and dismantle Hezbollah’s military structure.”
A German Ministry of Defense spokesperson on Thursday told Reuters that “a German warship that operates as part of UNIFIL’s peacekeeping mission intercepted a drone off the Lebanese coast.”
He said that the drone “fell into the water,” and caused no damage to the ship.
The spokesperson said that “the origin of the drone brought down by the air defense system is unknown,” adding that “the warship, known as Ludwigshafen am Rhein and deployed as part of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, is continuing its duties.”
Several UNIFIL positions, as well as the headquarters’ watchtower, were subject to Israeli hostilities, in which several peacekeepers were injured.
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The goal of the attacks was to make UNIFIL peacekeepers evacuate their positions in the Lebanese border area and relocate 5 km north. However, the UN strongly rejected the matter and condemned the attacks.
UNIFIL peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela on Wednesday observed “an Israeli Merkava tank firing at their watchtower, destroying two cameras and damaging the tower.”
In an official statement, UNIFIL said: “Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position.”
Meanwhile, evacuation threats were sent on Thursday to Lebanese in diplomatic, media and residential buildings in Beirut, Bekaa and the south.
The evacuation warning messages were received by workers in a Beirut building housing offices of the Al-Jazeera news network and the Norwegian Embassy, the Markazia Suites hotel, and buildings in the vicinity of Starco Center, which includes ministries and company offices.
Evacuation warnings were also sent to workers in the main Hamra street next to the American University of Beirut’s campus, including the Commodore Hotel, where foreign journalists usually stay.
A judge at the court of audit received a similar message.
After the army’s investigation of the source of the warnings, it appeared that the calls received on people’s phones were “fake,” according to a security source.
The source considered that “all are rumors other than the warnings issued by the spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, on his social media account, which include maps specifying the targets, remain inaccurate, especially the phone calls received by citizens, officials, mayors, judges, embassies and media offices.”
On Thursday, Adraee issued a series of urgent warnings to residents in northern Bekaa to evacuate before attacking the targeted areas less than an hour later with airstrikes.
Adraee’s warnings included areas in the south, especially the Tyre region.
Israeli airstrikes continued in the border area, particularly in the areas of Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Iqlim Al-Tuffah and Jezzine, reaching the eastern sector with the shelling of Shebaa. The airstrikes focused on the northern Bekaa region, up to the border with Syria.
In a series of statements, Hezbollah said it had repelled Israeli forces in Labbouneh Heights and the Kfarkela and Odaisseh axes.
Adraee claimed that “a Hezbollah battalion commander, Hussein Mohammed Awada, was eliminated in the Bint Jbeil area and that he was responsible for launching shells toward Israeli territory.”
Hezbollah enters new phase in war as Netanyahu insists on dismantling its structure
International
Moscow attacks Ukraine with drones, missiles
Moscow attacks Ukraine with drones, missiles
Kyiv said Tuesday that Russia had launched a barrage of drones and missiles across Ukraine, conceding that there were successful strikes in the east of the country and near the capital.
Authorities did not elaborate on what had been hit but in the wider Kyiv region, the governor said debris from a downed projectile had damaged a private home and wounded a woman.
Moscow said its forces had used attack drones and precision weapons in a “combined” assault on a military airfield and a munitions production facility, claiming that the targets were struck.
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The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 21 missiles of various types and 40 drones in the barrage, adding that seven missiles and 16 unmanned aerial vehicles were downed.
“As a result of the Russian attack, there were ballistic missile hits in Sumy and Kyiv regions,” the air force said.
Russia has launched aerial attacks on Ukraine at night almost every day since its forces invaded in February 2022, targeting military and civilian infrastructure, too, like energy facilities.
Ukraine has stepped up its own drone and missile attacks inside Russian territory in response, and urged its Western allies to supply more air defence systems.
A Ukrainian drone attack in western Russia caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot, a Russian regional governor said earlier Tuesday.
Moscow attacks Ukraine with drones, missiles
International
Catholic priest sentenced to 11 years for criticising his president
Catholic priest sentenced to 11 years for criticising his president
A Catholic priest in Belarus on Monday was convicted on charges of high treason for criticising the government and handed an 11-year sentence, in the first case of politically-driven charges against Catholic clergy since Belarus became independent after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
The conviction and sentencing of Rev. Henrykh Akalatovich comes as Belarusian authorities have intensified their sweeping crackdown on dissent ahead of the Jan. 26 presidential election that is all but certain to hand authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a seventh term in office.
The Viasna Human Rights Centre said Akalatovich, 64, rejected the treason charges. The group has listed him among 1,265 political prisoners in the country.
“For the first time since the fall of the Communist regime, a Catholic priest in Belarus was convicted on criminal charges that are levelled against political prisoners,” said Viasna’s representative Pavel Sapelka. “The harsh sentence is intended to intimidate and silence hundreds of other priests ahead of January’s presidential election.”
Akalatovich, who has been in custody since November 2023, was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery just before his arrest. The priest from the town of Valozhyn in western Belarus, who was critical of the government in his sermons, has been held incommunicado, with prison officials turning down warm clothing and food sent to him.
Arkatovich is among dozens of clergy — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant — who have been jailed, silenced or forced into exile for protesting the 2020 election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term. The disputed vote that the opposition and the West said was marred with fraud triggered mass protests,. The authorities then responded with a sweeping crackdown that saw more than 65,000 arrested and thousands beaten by police.
Catholic and Protestant clergy who supported the protests and sheltered demonstrators at their churches were particularly targeted by repressions. Belarusian authorities openly seek to bring the clergy into line, repeatedly summoning them for “preventive” political talks, checking websites and social media, and having security services monitor sermons.
While Orthodox Christians make up about 80% of the population, just under 14% are Catholic and 2% are Protestants.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for nearly 30 years and describes himself as an “Orthodox atheist,” lashed out at dissident clergy during the 2020 protests, urging them to “do their jobs,” and not fuel unrest.
Lukashenko is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowing Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and to deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Catholic priest sentenced to 11 years for criticising his president
International
Second South Korea Jeju Air flight suffers landing problem
Second South Korea Jeju Air flight suffers landing problem
A Jeju Air flight from Seoul on Monday was forced to return after encountering a landing gear problem, the airline said, a day after South Korea’s most deadly plane crash.
The Boeing 737-800 involved in the latest incident was the same model as the Jeju Air plane that crashed on Sunday killing 179 people after coming down without its landing gear engaged.
Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which departed Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport for Jeju island “at around 6:37 am, returned to Gimpo at 7:25 am” after a landing gear issue was detected shortly after takeoff, the South Korean airline said.
“Shortly after takeoff, a signal indicating a landing gear issue was detected on the aircraft’s monitoring system,” Song Kyung-hoon, head of the management support office at Jeju Air, told a news conference.
“At 6:57 am, the captain communicated with ground control, and after taking additional measures, the landing gear returned to normal operation. However, the decision was made to return to the airport for a thorough inspection of the aircraft.”
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Local media reported that 21 passengers chose not to board an alternate flight to Jeju, citing concerns over safety and other reasons.
Jeju Air’s 41 plane fleet includes 39 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Seoul said on Monday it would conduct a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800 planes in operation in the country, with US investigators, possibly including from plane manufacturer Boeing, joining the probe into the crash.
“We are reviewing plans to conduct a special inspection on B737-800 aircraft,” said Joo Jong-wan, head of the aviation policy bureau at the South Korean transport ministry.
Joo added that the government plans to “implement rigorous aviation safety inspections in response to the (landing gear) incidents”.
In Sunday’s crash at Muan, the Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea made a mayday call and belly-landed before crashing into a barrier and bursting into flames.
Everyone on board Jeju Air Flight 2216 was killed, save two flight attendants pulled from the wreckage.
Second South Korea Jeju Air flight suffers landing problem
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