International
Israeli military begins ground invasion of southern Lebanon
Israeli military begins ground invasion of southern Lebanon
BEIRUT/RIYADH: The Israeli military said early Tuesday that it had started a ground invasion of Lebanon in a long anticipated operation that leaders say will support the return of displaced Israelis to northern settlements.
Israel’s military said the operation in southern Lebanon was limited and localized and was based on precise intelligence against the Lebanese group Hezbollah, adding that the air force and artillery units were supporting ground troops.
The military said that its targets were in villages close to its border with Lebanon that pose “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire across the border for months, forcing many residents either side of it to flee or be evacuated from danger zones.
Lebanese residents in Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of military aerial activity.
Lebanese authorities said that 95 people had been killed on Monday due to Israeli actions across the country.
Hezbollah said on Monday that it had carried out attacks against the Israeli military.
The Lebanese capital was again targeted by Israeli fire on Monday night as at least six strikes hit south Beirut. Residents received messages to evacuate target sites and many continue to sleep outside for safety or because they have nowhere else to go.
In Sidon, a strike targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Reuters reported citing two Palestinian security officials, and his fate was unknown early Tuesday.
The strike hit a building in the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the south of the city.
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In neighboring Syria, state media said that three people had been killed, including a journalist, with air defenses intercepting “hostile” targets in the Damascus area on Tuesday.
“Our air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets in the Damascus area,” Syria’s official SANA news agency said, using a phrase usually used to refer to Israeli strikes.
Earlier, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel informed the US about the raids, which he said were described as “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”
Before the Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon, a Western diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts said Israel had shared its plans with the US and other Western allies, and conveyed the operation will “be limited.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s army is repositioning troops stationed on its southern border, a Lebanese military official told AFP.
The Lebanese army is “repositioning and regrouping forces” at the southern border following threats of an Israeli incursion, the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Britain and Canada announced on Monday plans to get their citizens out of Lebanon amid fears over a wider escalation that may involve Iranian intervention to support Hezbollah.
Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said in his first public speech since Israeli airstrikes killed its veteran chief Hassan Nasrallah last week that the group’s fighters are primed to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon. Israel will not achieve its goals, he said.
“We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” he said in an address from an undisclosed location.
He was speaking as Israeli airstrikes on targets in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon continued, extending a two-week long wave of attacks that has eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 Lebanese and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
Nasrallah’s killing, along with the series of blows against the organization’s communications devices and assassination of other senior commanders, constitute the biggest blow to the organization since Iran created it in 1982 to fight Israel.
He had built it up into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force, with wide sway across the Middle East.
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Now Hezbollah faces the challenge of replacing a charismatic, towering leader who was a hero to millions of supporters because he stood up to Israel even though the West branded him a terrorist mastermind.
“We will choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity…and we will fill the leadership and positions on a permanent basis,” Qassem said.
Qassem said Hezbollah’s fighters had continued to fire rockets as deep as 150 km (93 miles) into Israeli territory and were ready to face any possible Israeli ground incursion.
“What we are doing is the bare minimum…We know that the battle may be long,” he said. “We will win as we won in the liberation of 2006 in the face of the Israeli enemy,” he added, referring to the last big conflict between the two foes.
Israel, which has also assassinated leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza war, says it will do whatever it takes to return its citizens to evacuated communities on its northern border safely.
“The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one. In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops deployed to the country’s northern border.
Hours before Hezbollah’s Qassem spoke, Hamas said an Israeli airstrike killed its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, along with his wife, son and daughter in the southern city of Tyre on Monday.
Another faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said three of its leaders died in a strike in Beirut’s Kola district — the first such hit inside the city limits.
The wave of Israeli attacks on militant targets in Lebanon are part of a conflict also stretching from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, to Yemen, Iraq and within Israel itself. The escalation has raised fears that the United States and Iran will be sucked into the conflict.
The latest actions indicated Israel has no intention of slowing down its offensive even after eliminating Nasrallah, who was Iran’s most powerful ally in its “Axis of Resistance” against Israeli and US influence in the region.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Tehran would not let any of Israel’s “criminal acts” go unanswered. He was referring to the killing of Nasrallah and an Iranian Guard deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, who died in the same strikes on Friday.
Russia said Nasrallah’s death had led to a serious destabilization in the broader region.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain called for a ceasefire, although they added that its support for Israel’s right to self-defense was “ironclad.”
Close ally the US has shown unwavering support for Israel despite concerns over heavy civilian casualties.
Israeli military begins ground invasion of southern Lebanon
ARAB NEWS
International
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
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.
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
International
Local security chief arrested over murder of mayor in Mexico
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.
Local security chief arrested over murder of mayor in Mexico
International
COP29: Islamic bank supports WHO Impact Investment with $10m
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.
COP29: Islamic bank supports WHO Impact Investment with $10m
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