International
Israel strikes Iran as payback for missile attack
Israel strikes Iran as payback for missile attack
Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran early on Saturday, claiming the assaults were directed at military targets in revenge for the Islamic Republic’s volley of ballistic missiles against Israel earlier this month.
Although there was no immediate word on damage or injuries, explosions could be heard in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
At a time of escalating violence throughout the Middle East, where Iranian-backed militant groups, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are already at war with the Hebrew nation, the attack runs the risk of bringing the archenemies closer to full-scale conflict.
The Hebrew nation claimed to have carried out “precise strikes on military targets” on Saturday, but two Israeli officials stated the strikes were not directed at oil or nuclear installations. Since they were not authorised to speak to the media about the ongoing operation, the officials talked on condition of anonymity.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a prerecorded video speech early Saturday that “the regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Hebrew nation since Oct. 7… including direct attacks from Iranian soil.”
“The State of Israel has the right and the obligation to respond, just like any other sovereign nation in the world.”
At first, IDF reaction to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack was thought to target oil stations and nuclear facilities. However, in mid-October, the Biden administration thought it had secured guarantees from Israel that it would not strike these targets, which would constitute a more serious escalation.
Iran’s official media said that explosions were audible in Tehran and claimed that some of the noises were from the city’s air defence systems.
Iranian official television, however, provided no further information beyond a brief mention and even, in what appeared to be an effort to minimise the attack, started airing what it described as live footage of individuals loading trucks at a Tehran vegetable market.
The first wave of assaults shook the surrounding neighbourhood, with at least seven explosions audible, a Tehran resident told The Associated Press (AP). For fear of retaliation, the resident spoke on condition of anonymity.
People in Tehran could see what looked like tracer fire light up the sky as explosions sounded. Additional video captured what looked like the launch of surface-to-air missiles.
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Early on Saturday, Iran closed its airspace, and according to AP’s analysis of flight-tracking data, commercial airlines largely departed the sky over Iran as well as over Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
President Joe Biden has been briefed and will continue to get updates, according to the White House.
Syria’s central and southern military installations were the target of missile fire, according to the state news agency SANA, which cited an unnamed military official.
It claimed that several of the missiles had been shot down by Syria’s air defences. Casualty information was not immediately available.
After two Iranian generals were killed in what seemed to be an IDF airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria last April, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones towards Israel.
Under pressure from Western nations to exercise restraint, Israel retaliated with a limited strike after the missiles and drones caused little damage.
However, Israel pledged a more forceful reaction following Iran’s missile launch in early October. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, declared right away that Iran had “made a big mistake.”
The United States, which has a sizable military presence in the Persian Gulf and has assisted Israel in defending itself against strikes by Iran and its allies, runs the possibility of becoming even more involved if Israel launches a strong attack on Iran.
On the evening of October 1, Iran fired at least 180 missiles into Israel, causing very minor damage and a few injuries while sending Israelis running into bomb shelters.
Iran claimed that the bombardment was punishment for attacks that killed Iranian military personnel, Hamas leaders, and Hezbollah commanders in previous months.
IDF had dealt Hezbollah a slew of severe blows before to Iran’s October attack. Hezbollah has been launching rockets into the Hebrew nation almost every day for more than a year, ever since the horrific Hamas attack on Israel that started the war in Gaza.
In September, two days of assaults reported to Israel resulted in the explosion of Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies, killing dozens and injuring thousands. The following week, Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, and several of his top commanders were murdered in a major Israeli attack outside of Beirut.
Israel then launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, increasing the strain on Hezbollah. The death toll has increased significantly as airstrikes continue to strike in and around Beirut, displacing over a million Lebanese. Until it is safe for Israeli citizens who have been forced from their homes near the Lebanon border to return, Israel has stated that it will keep attacking Hezbollah. Until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, Hezbollah has threatened to continue launching missiles into Israel.
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Last October 7, Hamas and other militants assaulted the Hebrew nation, killing 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and capturing some 250 hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu has promised to continue Israel’s catastrophic air and military offensive against Hamas until all of the captives are released.
There are about 100 left, and about one-third are thought to be dead. According to local health experts, well than half of the 42,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza are women and children. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was returning to the United States from a Middle East tour, where he and other US officials had cautioned Israel to respond in a way that would not worsen the regional conflict, Israel launched its assault on Iran on Saturday.
The Hebrew nation contacted the US before of the strikes, according to two US officials. The US was not involved in the operation, they added. The officials discussed an ongoing operation while speaking on condition of anonymity.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Hebrew nation and Iran have been fierce enemies. Given its leaders’ demands for Israel’s destruction, their backing of terrorist anti-Israel organisations, and its nuclear program, Israel views Iran as its worst threat.
The shadow war between Iran and Israel has lasted for years. Leading Iranian nuclear scientists have been slain in what is believed to be an Israeli assassination campaign.
In enigmatic attacks attributed to the Hebrew nation, Iranian nuclear installations have been compromised or damaged.
In the meantime, Iran has been held accountable for a slew of recent attacks on Middle Eastern ships, which escalated into attacks on shipping via the Red Sea corridor by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Since the October 7 strike by Hamas, the shadow war has become more visible. After two Iranian generals were killed in what seemed to be an IDF airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria last April, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones towards Israel.
Under pressure from Western nations to exercise restraint, the Hebrew nation retaliated with a limited strike after the missiles and drones caused little damage.
However, the Hebrew nation pledged a more forceful reaction following Iran’s missile launch in early October.
Israel strikes Iran as payback for missile attack
International
Israel ejects Gaza hospital, detains medical personnel
Israel ejects Gaza hospital, detains medical personnel
The last major functioning hospital in northern Gaza was forcibly evacuated by the Israeli military on Friday after dozens of people were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes targeting the area.
Medical staff, including the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, have also been detained, Gaza health officials said on Saturday.
The hospital director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, was among the first to report that about 50 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes targeting the vicinity of the hospital on Friday.
The IDF had said it was carrying out an operation in the area, alleging the hospital was a “Hamas terrorist stronghold”.
On Friday, patients at the hospital were forcibly moved to the nearby Indonesian Hospital which doctors warn is damaged and unsuitable due to a lack of power generators and water.
Eid Sabbah, head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan, told the BBC the military had ordered the evacuation around 07:00 on Friday, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard.
Israeli troops then entered the hospital and removed the remaining patients, he said.
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The IDF said it had “facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel” before beginning the operation.
Seriously ill patients were moved to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, itself evacuated earlier in the week, which medics have described as non-functional.
“You can’t call it a hospital, it’s more of a shelter. It’s not equipped for patients,” Gaza’s deputy minister of health, Dr Abu-Al Rish, told the BBC on Friday.
Dr Sabbah, from Kamal Adwan Hospital, said: “It’s dangerous because there are patients in the ICU department in a coma and in need of ventilation machines and moving them will put them in danger.”
He had said critically ill patients needed to be moved in specialised vehicles.
The World Health Organization said the raid “has put this last major health facility in north Gaza out of service”.
“Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” it posted on X on Friday.
Nadav Shoshani, international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a post on Friday evening on X that a “small fire broke out in an empty building inside the hospital that is under control”.
This was when IDF troops were not inside the hospital, he said, adding that “after preliminary examination, no connection was found between IDF activity to the fire”.
The director of Kamal Adwan hospital had said on Friday that approximately 50 people had been killed, including five medical staff, in a series of Israeli air strikes targeting the vicinity of the hospital.
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The statement from Dr Hussam Abu Safiya said a building opposite the hospital was targeted by Israeli warplanes, leading to the death of a paediatrician and a lab technician, as well as their families.
He said a third staff member who worked as a maintenance technician was targeted and killed as he rushed to the scene of the first strike.
Two of the hospital’s paramedics were 500m (1,640ft) away from the hospital when they were targeted and killed by another strike, the statement continued, with their bodies remaining in the street with no-one able to reach them.
The Israeli military said on Friday morning that it was “unaware of strikes in the area of Kamal Adwan hospital” and was looking into the reports that staff had been killed.
Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia has been under a tightening Israeli blockade imposed on parts of northern Gaza since October, when the military said it had launched an offensive to stop Hamas from regrouping there.
The UN has said the area is under a “near-total siege” as the Israeli military heavily restricts access of aid deliveries to an area where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people remain.
In recent days, the hospital’s administrators have issued desperate pleas appealing to be protected, as they say the facility has become a regular target for Israeli shelling and explosives.
Oxfam said that attempts by aid agencies to deliver supplies to the area since October had been unsuccessful because of “deliberate delays and systematic obstructions” by the Israeli military.
Additional reporting by Shaimaa Khalil
Israel ejects Gaza hospital, detains medical personnel
BBC
International
Trump asks Supreme Court to suspend law for TikTok ban
Trump asks Supreme Court to suspend law for TikTok ban
US President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.
“In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues,” Trump’s legal team wrote, to give him “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution.”
Trump was fiercely opposed to TikTok during his 2017-21 first term, and tried in vain to ban the video app on national security grounds.
The Republican voiced concerns — echoed by political rivals — that the Chinese government might tap into US TikTok users’ data or manipulate what they see on the platform.
US officials had also voiced alarm over the popularity of the video-sharing app with young people, alleging that its parent company is subservient to Beijing and that the app is used to spread propaganda, claims denied by the company and the Chinese government.
Trump called for a US company to buy TikTok, with the government sharing in the sale price, and his successor Joe Biden went one stage further — signing a law to ban the app for the same reasons.
– Reversing course –
Trump has now, however, reversed course.
At a press conference last week, Trump said he has “a warm spot” for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential ban.
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Earlier this month, the president-elect met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Recently, Trump told Bloomberg he had changed his mind about the app: “Now (that) I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition.”
“If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram — and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg.”
International
Romeo and Juliet actress Olivia Hussey dies at 73
Romeo and Juliet actress Olivia Hussey dies at 73
Actress Olivia Hussey, who shot to international prominence as a teenager for her role in the acclaimed 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
The Argentinian-born actress, who grew up in London, died on Friday surrounded by her loved ones, a statement posted on her Instagram said.
Hussey won the best new actress Golden Globe for her part as Juliet, but decades later she sued Paramount Pictures for sexual abuse as she was aged just 15 when she filmed the movie’s nude scene.
Her other most notable screen role was as Mary, mother of Jesus, in 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth.
“As we grieve this immense loss, we also celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry,” the statement said.
Hussey was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951, before moving to London aged seven and studying at the Italia Conti Academy drama school.
1968’s Romeo and Juliet was nominated for best picture and director Oscars
She was 15 when Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli discovered her onstage, playing opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the play The Prime of Miss Joan Brodie
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Zeffirelli was looking for someone who was young enough to be a convincing Juliet in what he intended to be the definitive cinematic version of the Shakespeare play.
He cast Hussey alongisde British 16-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo in the film.
The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture and director. Hussey missed out on an Oscar nomination herself in a strong year in which Barbra Streisand won the main award for Funny Girl.
But at that year’s Golden Globes Hussey won the award for best new star.
Decades later, she and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures alleging Zeffirelli – who died in 2019 – had encouraged them to film nude scenes despite previous assurances they would not have to.
The pair sought damages of more than $500m (£417m), based on suffering they said they had experienced and the revenue brought in by the film since its release.
But last year a judge dismissed the case, finding the scene was not “sufficiently sexually suggestive”.
In 1977, Hussey had reunited with Zeffirelli for Jesus of Nazareth to play the Virgin Mary, before appearing in Death on the Nile a year later based on Agatha Christie’s novel.
Her roles in early slasher film Black Christmas (1974) and TV film Psycho IV: The Beginning earned her recognition as a scream queen. In the latter, she p[layed Norman Bates’s mother in a prequel storyline.
In later years she also took on work as a voice actress, appearing frequently in video games.
But she did have one final reunion with her former Romeo – as she and Whiting appeared together in the 2015 British film Social Suicide, which was loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, albeit set in the social media era.
Romeo and Juliet actress Olivia Hussey dies at 73
BBC
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