International
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Thursday ignited fires across orchards and forests on the Lebanese border using internationally banned incendiary weapons.
Hezbollah carried out an aerial attack in response, using drones to target the new headquarters of the artillery battalion of Israel’s 146th division.
The strike, south of Kabri, “achieved a direct hit” and led to deaths and injuries on the Israeli side, Hezbollah said.
The group also targeted Israeli soldiers near Hanita, claiming in a statement that the attack left “one dead and two wounded.”
Hezbollah’s drone strikes had “very harsh consequences” for their intended targets, Israel’s Channel 13 said.
In a statement, the Israeli army said: “Following warning sirens that were activated in the Upper Galilee region in the morning, drones were observed crossing the Lebanese territory and landing in the Upper Galilee area.”
Air defense systems intercepted several targets heading toward Israel, the army added.
Meanwhile, Israeli phosphorus artillery targeted Mays Al-Jabal, and the remains of an interceptor missile fell on the roof of an inhabited home in Shaqra.
The shelling of Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab resulted in fires erupting in forests and olive groves. Lebanese civil defense teams worked to extinguish the blazes.
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Israeli heavy artillery pounded several border areas — Houla, Wadi Al-Saluki, Aitaroun, Naqoura, Alma Al-Shaab and Dhayra — some of which have been frequent targets since clashes began nine months ago.
Israeli jets violated the southern Lebanese airspace, flying at very low altitudes.
The Progressive Socialist Party on Thursday called for urgent action in response to a reported Israeli interception of phone calls in Lebanon.
The Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper had reported the breach, which saw Israel accessing data, such as phone calls, through the submarine cable that connects Lebanon to Cyprus.
The party questioned Lebanon’s 2022 approval of the CADMOS-2 cable, which is linked to the Israeli cable Ariel connecting Haifa and Tel Aviv to Cyprus.
Lebanon had “failed to take any precautionary measures to prevent such a major breach,” the party warned.
In response, Hezbollah said it urged members to avoid phone calls and internet usage, and to disconnect surveillance cameras across the south.
The directive follows the assassinations of high-ranking Hezbollah members.
“We are not on the verge of any full-scale or open war. Neither the Israelis nor the Lebanese want that. Even the regional and international powers do not want that,” said Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussaoui.
Moussaoui told CNN: “Since the beginning of the hostilities, we set a modus operandi under which any escalation provoked by the Israeli enemy will be faced by an escalation of the same intensity if not more.
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“This is how things are going around so far. However, I do not believe a full-scale war favors any party.”
In his speech on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah referred to the ceasefire negotiations in Doha between Hamas and Israel, with Egypt, Qatar and the US present.
Nasrallah said that his movement would accept any Hamas decision on Gaza truce negotiations, adding that Hezbollah would end its cross-border attacks on Israel if a ceasefire were reached.
“Whatever Hamas accepts, everyone accepts and is satisfied with,” he said.
“This is our commitment as a support front. We have been clear about this from the beginning, and it should go without saying.
“Our brothers in Hamas know better. We are not asking anyone to listen to our opinion. We stand by their side and support them in any position or decision they take until the end.”
A political observer described Nasrallah’s announcement as “a position that tends toward de-escalation and meets the ongoing negotiations held in Doha.”
They added: “Iran is not far from taking the same position.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials ramped up their threats against Hezbollah, warning of the possibility of a two-front war.
During his tour of Galilee, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: “We must be able to confront two fronts simultaneously, and we should realize that these wars are going to last long.”
He added: “Iran is closer than ever to obtaining nuclear weapons. We may face repeated confrontations with Iran.”
Israeli incendiary weapons leave trail of destruction in southern Lebanon
ARAB NEWS
International
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
A month after a trainee doctor was raped and m8rdered in Kolkata, India, sparking anger and protests nationwide, a gang-rape attempt was made on a nurse at a private hospital in Bihar.
Police said one of the assaulters is a doctor who is also the administrator of the institution. However, the nurse managed to escape after inflicting a cut on his private parts with a blade.
The nurse was wrapping up work at the RBS Health Care Centre in Gangapur under the Musrighararari police station limits in Samastipur district on Wednesday night when hospital administrator Dr Sanjay Kumar (pictured) and two of his associates – all of whom were drunk – tried to r@pr her.
Trying to free herself from the clutches of Dr Kumar and the others, the nurse used a blade to slash at the doctor’s genitals.
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She managed to escape and dial the police after hiding in a field outside the hospital
Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Pandey said a team was rushed to the hospital and, after making sure that the nurse was safe, three people were arrested, including the doctor. The other two accused have been identified as Sunil Kumar Gupta and Awadhesh Kumar.
Mr Pandey said the men had locked the hospital from the inside and turned off the CCTV cameras before trying to s3xually ass@ult the nurse.
“The presence of mind and courage shown by the survivor is praiseworthy,” he said.
The police have recovered half a bottle of liquor, the blade used by the nurse, blood-stained clothes and three cellphones.
Officials said the three men had been drinking before trying to assault the nurse and they will also be charged under prohibition laws because Bihar is a dry state.
Doctor Sanjay is also the organization minister of Hindu Samaj Party.
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
International
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
BEIRUT: Israel dropped leaflets over a Lebanon border village Sunday urging residents to leave, state-run media said, but Israel’s military told AFP a brigade had taken the initiative without approval.
It was the first time Israelis had told residents of south Lebanon to evacuate in 11 months of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel over the Gaza war, triggered by Hezbollah ally Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
“The Israeli enemy dropped leaflets over Wazzani calling on those in the area and its surroundings to evacuate,” the official National News Agency said, referring to a southern border village.
Wazzani mayor Ahmed Al-Mohammed shared with AFP a picture of the leaflets that showed a map of the region with the areas marked for evacuation marked in red.
The leaflet read in Arabic: “To all residents and refugees living in the area of the camps, Hezbollah is firing from your region. You must immediately leave your homes and head north of the Khiam region before 04:00 p.m. (1300 GMT). Do not return to this area until the end of the war.”
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It added: “Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist.”
Wazzani is an agricultural region where Syrians are often hired to work the land.
Asked about the incident, an Israeli military spokeswoman said the leaflets had been dropped by drone in an area from which rockets had been fired into northern Israel.
“This was an initiative of the 769 Brigade, it was not approved by the Northern Command. An investigation has been opened,” she added.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft regularly drop leaflets urging residents to evacuate before an attack.
On Saturday, Hezbollah’s second-in-command Naim Qassem warned that an all-out war by Israel aimed at returning 100,000 displaced people to their homes in areas near the Lebanon border would displace “hundreds of thousands” more Israelis.
The cross-border violence since early October has killed 623 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 141 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
ARAB NEWS
International
Deadly floods hit Central, Eastern Europe
Deadly floods hit Central, Eastern Europe
A firefighter died during a flood rescue in Austria and one person drowned in Poland, as torrential rain caused by Storm Boris continued to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.
In Romania, five people have died, while several remain unaccounted for in the Czech Republic.
The Austrian province surrounding Vienna has been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of “an unprecedented extreme situation”.
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk declared a state of natural disaster.
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