International

Hezbollah rocket strikes kill seven in Israel

Published

2 weeks ago

November 1, 2024

Smoke was seen rising from the Israeli town of Metula following a Hezbollah rocket attack on Thursday

Hezbollah rocket strikes kill seven in Israel

Two separate Hezbollah rocket attacks have killed seven people in northern Israel, authorities say – the deadliest day of such strikes in months.

An Israeli farmer and four foreign agricultural workers were killed when rockets landed near Metula, a town on the border with Lebanon, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.

Later, an Israeli woman and her adult son were killed in an olive grove near Kibbutz Afek, on the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa.

Hezbollah said it had fired barrages of rockets towards the Krayot area north of Haifa and at Israeli forces south of the Lebanese town of Khiam, which is across the border from Metula.

The Israeli military identified two projectiles crossing from Lebanon and falling in an open area near Metula on Thursday morning.

The Israeli farmer who was killed was named by local media as Omer Weinstein, a 46-year-old father-of-four from nearby Kibbutz Dafna.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Maris Sangiampongsa, said on Friday that four Thai nationals were killed from rocket fire.

A fifth Thai worker was injured, he added.

Videos posted online showed them being transferred by helicopter to the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa.

Haaretz said Mr Weinstein and the foreign workers were in an agricultural field near the border fence at the time of the attack.

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It cited a member of the local emergency response team as saying the Israeli military had permitted them to enter the area despite Metula being inside a closed military zone.

The military established the zone at the end of September, just before it launched a ground invasion of Lebanon with the aim of destroying Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.

Thursday’s second rocket attack reportedly hit an agricultural area near Kibbutz Afek, which is about 65km (40 miles) south-west of Metula and 28km from the Lebanese border.

The military said a total of 55 projectiles were fired towards the Western Galilee region, where the kibbutz is located, as well as the Central Galilee and Upper Galilee in the early afternoon. Some of the projectiles were intercepted and others fell in open areas, it added.

According to Haaretz, 60-year-old Mina Hasson and her 30-year-old son, Karmi, were killed by a rocket that hit an olive grove where they were picking olives.

A 70-year-old man was also lightly injured by shrapnel and taken to Rambam hospital, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

“We were called to the olive grove and saw a man in his 30s lying on the ground, unconscious,” MDA paramedics Mazor and Yishai Levy told the Jerusalem Post.

“We began resuscitation efforts while conducting further searches, during which we located another casualty, also in critical condition with multi-system injuries. We provided her with medical treatment and performed resuscitation, but unfortunately, we had to pronounce both of them dead,” they said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Irish military said a UN peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon that houses Irish troops was hit by a rocket fired towards Israel on Wednesday night.

The rocket landed inside an unoccupied area of Camp Shamrock, which is 7km (4 miles) from the Israeli border, causing minimal damage on the ground and no casualties, Lt Gen Sean Clancy said.

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Irish premier Simon Harris said: “Thankfully everyone is safe but it is completely unacceptable that this happened. Peacekeepers are protected under international law and the onus is on all sides to ensure that protection.”

The deadly rocket attacks in northern Israel came as two US special envoys met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss a possible ceasefire deal to end the war with Hezbollah.

Netanyahu told Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk that the main issue was what he called Israel’s ability to “thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon in a way that will return our residents safely to their homes”, his office said in a statement.

Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah – which it proscribes as a terrorist organisation – after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza.

It said it wanted to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of northern Israeli border areas displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah launched in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, including 2,200 in the past five weeks, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli authorities say more than 60 people have been killed by Hezbollah rocket, drone, and missile attacks in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military said troops were continuing operations inside southern Lebanon and that aircraft had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets throughout the country.

Lebanon’s health ministry meanwhile said Israeli strikes had killed six paramedics in three southern towns.

Four from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Society’s Civil Defence branch, which provides emergency services, were killed when Israeli forces targeted a gathering point at Derdghaya junction, it said.

A fifth IHS paramedic was killed in an air strike on a vehicle in Deir al-Zahrani, while a strike in Zefta killed a paramedic from the Islamic Risala Scout Association, which is affiliated to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, according to the ministry.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. But dozens of paramedics and other emergency workers have been killed and injured since it intensified its air campaign against Hezbollah five weeks ago.

The military has previously accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters. The IHS has denied having ties to military operations.

There were also fresh Israeli strikes near Baalbek, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, a day after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of the entire city and two neighbouring towns.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that a woman was killed in a strike in the Kayyal area.

Another six people were killed when a house was bombed in Maqna, which is 5km north-east of Baalbek but was not included in the evacuation zone, it said.

Hezbollah rocket strikes kill seven in Israel

BBC

Related Topics:Hezbollah Israel Middle East rocket

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Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion

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12 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion

Two employees of Givaudan sense colour, a factory known for making colourings for beverages, located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States (US) were killed in an explosion that took place at the company’s facility.

The factory reported that the incident which took place on Tuesday, November 12 in the afternoon have also destroyed buildings around the company.

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Louisville Mayor, Craig Greenberg stated that firefighters managed to rescue and evacuate numerous individuals from the site, including some who sustained life-threatening injuries.

He also confirmed that all employees present at the plant during the explosion have been accounted for.

Earlier reports indicated that at least 11 workers were hospitalized.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

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International

Local security chief arrested over murder of mayor in Mexico

Published

19 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Alejandro Arcos

Local security chief arrested over murder of mayor in Mexico

German Reyes, a local security official in Chilpancingo, Mexico has been arrested for the murder of the city’s mayor, Alejandro Arcos.

The Mexican authorities announced his arrest via a statement on Tuesday, November 12.

The Mayor was killed in the month of October as security officials discovered his lifeless body in his pick-up truck with his head chopped off and placed on his body.

The brutal killing and decapitation of Mayor Alejandro Arcos, which occurred just days after he assumed office, stunned the nation.

Guerrero prosecutors confirmed the detention of the security official who was identified as German ‘N,’ in line with Mexican practice of withholding the full names of suspects.

However, a local government official later identified him as German Reyes, who was the security chief for Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 residents in southwestern Mexico prior to his arrest.

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“The Guerrero prosecutor’s office, the Mexican army and the National Guard, arrested a man for the crime of qualified homicide in Chilpancingo,” the statement said.

The arrest seems to provide more proof of the extensive infiltration of organized crime in local governments across large parts of Mexico, as well as the corruption among local officials.

Reyes had a lengthy career in Mexico’s military, according to his public profile.

Further reports by the police revealed that the Mayor had prior to his death, left Chilpancingo in his truck without a driver or security detail, heading toward the nearby town of Petaquillas, Mexico.

Local media also suggested that Arcos had met with members of Los Ardillos, a criminal group operating in Guerrero, Mexico.

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International

COP29: Islamic bank supports WHO Impact Investment with $10m

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

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COP29: Islamic bank supports WHO Impact Investment with $10m

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has committed a $10 million grant to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the Health Impact Investment Platform (HIIP), bolstering its mission to strengthen primary healthcare systems worldwide.

Announced on November 12, 2024, during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, the grant highlights IsDB’s dedication to enhancing health resilience and climate adaptation in low- and middle-income countries.

In a statement on Tuesday, IsDB described HIIP as a groundbreaking partnership among Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), WHO and nations seeking robust health and climate solutions.

“This initiative focuses on the investment in essential, climate and crisis-resilient primary health care services and systems,” the bank stated, emphasizing the aim to reinforce the health system, especially in low- and middle-income countries and in underserved communities, ultimately aiming to foster resilience against emerging health threats and climate challenges.

Fifteen countries are identified as part of phase one of the Health Impact Investment Platform: Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia Guinea Bissau .

Other countries included Jordan, Maldives Morocco, Senegal, South Sudan, The Gambia, Tunisia and Zambia.

Supporting WHO’s technical assistance goals

The $10 million grant will specifically support the technical assistance that WHO provides to countries around the world to assess investment needs and to design the most impactful health projects.

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“These projects will serve as the foundation for co-investment by the MDBs, ensuring that resources are directed toward areas with the greatest potential for positive health outcomes,”IsDB added.

Over the next four years, WHO aims to strengthen climate resilience as part of its Fourteenth General Programme of Work, which includes implementing national climate adaptation plans and making 10,000 health facilities fully operational, including solar-powered electrification.

Unlocking $500m in health investments across the region

In addition to the $10 million grant, IsDB’s contribution is projected to unlock at least $500 million in health investments across the region.

“This collective goal is part of a broader effort to mobilize a total of US$ 1.5 billion in concessional loans and grants, focusing on critical areas, this way addressing national health priorities.”

Advancing health resilience, leadership statements

IsDB President Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser said, the Islamic Development Bank is proud to support the Health Impact Investment Platform as part of our unwavering commitment to advancing universal health coverage and resilience in our Member Countries.

“These Multilateral Development Banks and WHO partnerships enable us to scale up primary health care where it is needed most, creating a stronger foundation to withstand future crises and addressing the pressing health challenges of today.”

“Together, we are fostering a healthier, more equitable future for communities across the globe,” he said.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that low- and middle-income countries need access to sustainable financing to strengthen their health systems through primary health care, to make them both more resilient to pandemics and more equitable in delivering essential health services.

“The Health Impact Investment Platform combines WHO’s public health expertise and on-the-ground presence with the resources and financing expertise of the Islamic Development Bank and other multilateral development banks. By working together, we can make a significant difference in improving health outcomes and creating a healthier future for all.”

The IsDB, along with its partners, remains committed to fostering partnerships that will advance healthcare and improve quality of life globally.