Two journalists among 8 killed as Israel hits targets in Lebanon

Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling on Aita Al-Shaab, a Lebanese border village with Israel, in south Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo)
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Updated 21 November 2023
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Two journalists among 8 killed as Israel hits targets in Lebanon

  • Mikati condemns Israeli ‘crime,’ Hezbollah responds by bombing a gathering place for soldiers
  • Intensification of violence on the southern Lebanese border increases the potential for clashes there to escalate into a full-blown conflict with uncertain outcomes

BEIRUT: Eight people were killed on Tuesday in southern Lebanon due to Israeli artillery shelling and drone attacks, among the victims a journalist and photojournalist.

Farah Omar, a correspondent for Al-Mayadeen TV, and photojournalist Rabie Al-Maamari, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tayr Harfa triangle. Civilian Hussein Aqeel, who happened to be with them, also lost his life.

Al-Mayadeen expressed deep sorrow for the loss of “the martyrs Farah Omar and Rabie Al-Maamari, who died as a result of treacherous Israeli targeting.”

Ghassan bin Jiddo, Al-Mayadeen director, said the journalists were deliberately targeted: “It was a direct attack, it was not by chance.”

The incident brought the total number of civilian casualties to 19 since the beginning of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the southern front, which commenced on Oct. 8.

Over the course of the past 45 days, over 70 Hezbollah members have also been killed.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati strongly condemned “the Israeli aggression that targeted media professionals in the south.”

He said: “This aggression proves that there are no limits to Israeli crimes, and (Israel’s) ultimate goal is to silence the media that exposes its crimes and attacks.”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said from Brussels after a meeting with his Belgian counterpart: “Lebanon will lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council, and we demand the condemnation of this heinous crime.”

Bou Habib expressed his fears that “the Gaza fire will spread to the Middle East if there is no concerted effort to extinguish it.”

Hezbollah condemned the targeting of journalists with Al-Mayadeen TV, saying: “This crime, and the previous assassination of journalist Essam Al-Abdullah, targeting the media convoy in Yaroun, and the killing of dozens of journalists in Gaza, reveal the crucial role played by the media in exposing the enemy’s terrorist acts. The Islamic resistance will not let this aggression and the loss of innocent lives go unpunished.”

Hezbollah subsequently declared that it launched an assault on “an Israeli military intelligence unit positioned in a residence on the periphery of the Al-Manara settlement using two precision-guided missiles, which led to its members being killed or wounded.”

An intensification of violence on the southern Lebanese border increases the potential for clashes there to escalate into a full-blown conflict with uncertain outcomes.

An observer told Arab News that the current escalation coincided with the announcement that Amos Hochstein, US advisor for global energy security affairs, would arrive in Israel on Monday for talks aimed at preventing an expansion of the war toward the northern border with Lebanon.

“It also coincides with the announcement that Israel and Hamas are approaching a truce agreement. The Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon may be aimed at dragging Hezbollah into war on the northern front, particularly since it is uncertain whether any truce agreement will include the southern Lebanese front,” the observer added.

Israel intensified operations in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Israeli warplanes launched attacks on the heights of Kfar Shuba, Aita Al-Shaab, and Al-Jebin, and artillery bombed the towns of Tair Harfa, Al-Naqoura, Aita Al-Shaab, Yaroun, Rab El Thalathine, Al-Adisa, Al-Khiyam, and Kafr Kila. The most serious targeting was of a Lebanese army center in the Wazzani area, but there were only material damages.

Israeli bombing also hit a house in the town of Kafr Kila, killing Laiqa Sarhan, 80, and wounding her granddaughter, Alaa Al-Qassem, a Syrian national. A number of Sarhan’s grandchildren who were in the house survived.

In the Al-Shaytiya area, Israeli bombs resulted in the death of four occupants of a vehicle. There are unverified reports suggesting that one of the deceased is Khalil Kharaz, the deputy commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon, the military arm of Hamas.

The Israeli army said that it targeted “three cells on Lebanese territory specialized in launching anti-tank missiles.”

The Islamic Resistance, the military wing of Hezbollah, announced that “in response to the Zionist enemy’s targeting of homes in the southern villages, the Islamic Resistance targeted a house in the Metulla settlement where Israeli enemy soldiers were stationed, using suitable weapons, resulting in a direct hit. Additionally, Hadab Al-Bustan and Al-Raheb locations off Aita Al-Shaab were targeted, achieving direct hits on these targets as well.”

According to the observer, the focus of this operation is in line with “Hezbollah’s increased efforts to target Israeli military installations and disrupt their operations by effectively disabling surveillance methods and inflicting maximum casualties on the Israeli army. This objective was achieved on Monday through the precise targeting of military gatherings, particularly at the Pranet barracks.”

The Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate condemned “the treacherous and direct Israeli attack in an airstrike on the media team,” adding that it was “a deliberate attack that amounts to an assassination, and Tel Aviv bears direct responsibility for it.”

The syndicate has brought up the matter of “this massacre” to the UN, its affiliated bodies, and press unions around the world, including those from Arab and Asian regions.

It called for “a formal complaint to be lodged with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice against Israel. The evidence of Israel’s crimes has been captured in audio and video recordings.”


Israel considers flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater- WSJ

Updated 05 December 2023
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Israel considers flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater- WSJ

  • When asked about the story, a U.S. official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that

WASHINGTON: Israel has assembled a large system of pumps that may be used to flood tunnels used by militant group Hamas under the Gaza strip in a bid to drive out fighters, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. officials.
Around the middle of November, Israel's army completed the set-up of at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp that could move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, flooding the tunnels within weeks, the report said.
It was not clear whether Israel would consider using the pumps before all hostages were released, according to the story. Hamas has previously said it has hidden captives in "safe places and tunnels."
Reuters could not verify the details of Monday's report.
When asked about the story, a U.S. official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that.
Israel's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal said an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official declined to comment on the flooding plan but was quoted as saying: "The IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas’s terror capabilities in various ways, using different military and technological tools."
Israel first informed the United States of the option last month, the Wall Street Journal said, reporting that officials did not know how close Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was to carrying out the plan.
Israel has not made a final decision to go ahead or rule it out, the officials were cited as saying.

 

 


Russian aircraft brings 120 Russians home from Gaza

Updated 05 December 2023
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Russian aircraft brings 120 Russians home from Gaza

  • The Emergencies Ministry has so far flown more than 880 Russian nationals home aboard nine flights

MOSCOW: A chartered aircraft flew 120 Russian nationals evacuated from the Gaza Strip home to Moscow on Monday, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.
A ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app said 30 children were among those on board the Ilyushin-76 aircraft that landed in Moscow.
The Emergencies Ministry has so far flown more than 880 Russian nationals home aboard nine flights.

 

 


Red Cross chief arrives in Gaza, says suffering ‘intolerable’

Updated 04 December 2023
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Red Cross chief arrives in Gaza, says suffering ‘intolerable’

GENEVA: The Red Cross president arrived in war-torn Gaza on Monday, calling for the protection of civilians in the Palestinian territory, where she warned that human suffering was “intolerable.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric’s travel to the region would happen in several stages with “a visit to Israel expected over the coming weeks.”

“I have arrived in Gaza, where people’s suffering is intolerable,” Spoljaric said on X, formerly Twitter.

“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible,” she added in an ICRC statement.

Spoljaric, whose organization has faced criticism from both sides in the conflict for not providing adequate help to Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, insisted that “all those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely.”

“The hostages must be released, and the ICRC must be allowed to safely visit them,” she said.

Her visit comes after full-scale fighting resumed Friday following the collapse of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged scores of hostages and prisoners.

“The last week provided a small degree of humanitarian respite, a positive glimpse of humanity that raised hopes around the world that a path to reduced suffering could now be found,” Spoljaric said in the statement.

“As a neutral actor, the ICRC stands ready to support further humanitarian agreements that reduce suffering and heartbreak.”


Netanyahu graft trial resumes in Israel in midst of Gaza war

Updated 04 December 2023
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Netanyahu graft trial resumes in Israel in midst of Gaza war

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Monday, despite the country’s continuing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The trial was suspended after the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 more kidnapped according to Israeli officials.

Netanyahu, leader of Israel’s right-wing Likud party, is accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, allegations he denies.

Minister David Amsalem of Likud called the resumption of proceedings during the war “a disgrace.”

“War? Captives? ... No, no. The most important thing now is to renew Netanyahu’s trial,” said Amsalem on Sunday on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Netanyahu and his allies have argued the accusations against him are politically motivated and had proposed a judicial overhaul that would have curbed some powers held by the courts.

The high-profile trial is expected to last several more months. An appeal process, if necessary, could take years.

In one of three cases the trial encompasses, prosecutors allege a plot between Netanyahu and the controlling shareholder of Israel’s Bezeq telecom giant to exchange regulatory favors for positive coverage on a news site owned by the firm. A second case relates to Netanyahu’s relationship with Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and other wealthy personalities.

According to prosecutors, between 2007 and 2016 Netanyahu allegedly received gifts valued at 700,000 shekels ($195,000), including boxes of cigars, bottles of champagne and jewelry, in exchange for financial or personal favors.

Netanyahu, who is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to stand trial, denies any wrongdoing, saying gifts were only accepted from friends and without him having asked for them.

In October 2019, his lawyers said they had received an expert legal opinion that concluded he had a right to accept gifts from close friends.


Egyptian Space Agency announces successful launch of MisrSat 2 satellite from China

Chinese and Egyptian engineers worked together to design and manufacture the satellite. (Photo: Xinhua news agency)
Updated 05 December 2023
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Egyptian Space Agency announces successful launch of MisrSat 2 satellite from China

  • The Egyptian Space Agency was established in 2018 and aims to build and launch satellites from Egyptian territory

CAIRO: The Egyptian Space Agency has reported that the launch of the MisrSat 2 satellite from China was successful.

The agency said: “This (the launch) is in light of the strategic partnership between the governments of Egypt and China and the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the two friendly countries.”

A team of Egyptian engineers collaborated with Chinese experts in the satellite’s design and manufacture.

It was assembled and tested at the EGSA’s Satellite Assembly, Integration, and Testing Center.

The site, the largest of its kind in Africa and the Middle East, was established within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The satellite forms part of Egypt’s sustainable development goals by utilizing space technology to enhance vital areas, including agriculture, the exploration of mineral resources, identification of surface water sources, and the study of the impact of climate change on the environment.

The agency said the work contributed to supporting the Egyptian economy as well as enhancing the country’s pioneering role by providing training programs aimed at qualifying specialized personnel on the African continent and the Middle East, while supplying spatial data.

It added that the launch of the MisrSat 2 was a milestone in Egyptian-Chinese cooperation, especially in the field of space technology.

The Egyptian Space Agency was established in 2018 and aims to build and launch satellites from Egyptian territory.